mgoblog - da'mario joneshttp://mgoblog.com/taxonomy/term/19329/0
enH4: The Burned Redshirts in Order of Arghhttp://mgoblog.com/content/h4-burned-redshirts-order-argh
<p><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/13655851055_5b682e5335_k.jpg"><img title="13655851055_5b682e5335_k" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="13655851055_5b682e5335_k" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/13655851055_5b682e5335_k_thumb.jpg" width="564" height="377" /></a></p>
<p align="center"><font size="2"><em>I realize Strobel got one. Find a better photo then, pickers of nits.</em></font></p>
<p>This has to be talked about. Hoke left a roster that was in relatively good shape considering all the highly rated players who had to stick through some awful program degradation. He signed good classes, and those classes have by and large stuck around and fulfilled their academic duties. But an inordinate amount of them inexplicably didn't redshirt, and because of this there are some holes on the horizon.</p>
<p>I'm sure there are explanations in many of these cases that we are not party to. It's only the sheer volume of head-scratching non-redshirts under Hoke that gives us reason to call all of them into question. Like how I'm sure there are legit medical hardship waivers that occur at Alabama but [<a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/TheAxemanPublicized_D1EE/chartgo.png" target="_blank">graph</a>].</p>
<p>Some guys the coaches were forced to play early, and there's no need to discuss them beyond a mention as such, e.g. Jabrill Peppers. Mason Cole outcompeted a pile of guys to start at left tackle last season. That sort of thing gets a full pass. Beyond that, I've broken each Hoke class into categories of increasing argh:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>WTF. </strong>Wasting redshirts on special teams and dime back when last year's dime back is on the bench. </li>
<li><strong>Pick ONE. </strong>Needed bodies at this position, but not all the bodies. Battles for 2nd on the depth chart should be resolved in time for the ultimate loser to have a 5th year as consolation.</li>
<li><strong>Need the dudes (and other things I don't blame on the coaches). </strong>Immediate starters or guys who played because Michigan sorely needed his body and his pulse at that position. </li>
</ul>
<p>Names that should have redshirted are in red.</p>
<h3>Class of 2011</h3>
<p><font style="font-weight: normal"><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/DEs_0.jpg"><img title="DEs" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; display: block; padding-right: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="DEs" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/DEs_thumb_0.jpg" width="564" height="359" /></a></font></p>
<p align="center"><font style="font-weight: normal" size="2"><em>Did you really need both, 2011? [Upchurch]</em></font></p>
<p><font style="font-weight: normal">Hoke arrived to an offensive machine with two years of eligibility remaining, and a nightmare defense of guys who couldn't displace recent departures like Jonas Mouton, Ray Vinopal, Adam Patterson, Greg Banks, and James Rogers. The immediate need was obvious and Hoke rightfully set about recruiting freshmen who could fill those roles. So I'll give him a pass for some of it.</font><br />
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<td bgcolor="#ffffff"><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/SugarBowl_Hollowell-thumb-333x221-98980.jpg"><img title="SugarBowl_Hollowell-thumb-333x221-98980" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="SugarBowl_Hollowell-thumb-333x221-98980" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/SugarBowl_Hollowell-thumb-333x221-98980_thumb.jpg" width="337" height="225" /></a></td>
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<td><font size="2" face="Calibri">Hollowell's 2011 contribution was more than scooping up a fumbled kickoff against VT, but it was also more than Ray Taylor's. [Melanie Maxwell|<a href="http://www.annarbor.com/sports/um-football/two-key-calls-shaped-michigans-sugar-bowl-win-against-virginia-tech/" target="_blank">AnnArbor.com</a>]</font></td>
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</p>
<p align="left"><strong>Wtf: </strong>None.</p>
<p align="center"><strong>Pick ONE</strong></p>
<p><strong><font color="#ff0000">Raymon Taylor</font> </strong>and <strong>Delonte Hollowell. </strong>The year following the Never Forget defensive backfield, Hoke recruited five likely cornerbacks: Blake Countess, Raymon Taylor, Delonte Hollowell, Tamani Carter (redshirted, transferred before 2012), and Greg Brown (early enrollee, transferred before 2011 season). The roster still had J.T. Floyd, Courtney Avery and Terrence Talbott (left program summer before 2012 season), available. In a pinch, Troy Woolfolk could have converted back when Thomas Gordon won the free safety job. At least one, and probably two true freshmen would have to play.</p>
<p>It immediately became apparent that one would be Countess. So to fill out the two deep they would need to burn Taylor or Hollowell's shirt. Hollowell arrived as the quintessential Cass Tech mite corner. The guy was 164 pounds, but saw some action at dime back vs. Nebraska, and recovered the fumble at the end of the first half. Taylor had two tackles and a personal foul.</p>
<p><strong><font color="#ff0000">Brennen Beyer</font> </strong>and <strong>Frank Clark</strong>. Going into the season Beyer was a SAM and Clark a WDE. The difference between those positions in Michigan's 4-3 under was not very great, particularly because when Beyer was inserted it was for a 5-2 look. The WDE's depth chart was Craig Roh and Jibreel Black; SAM was Jake Ryan and Cam Gordon. The reason I say one would have played anyway is the rush end position has a lot rotation, and Black was already the starter in the nickel formation.</p>
<p>There wasn't much to differentiate the two in aggregate play; Beyer was the more consistent, Clark the more explosive. The coaches chose to have them compete through the year instead of preserving one. Had they done so Beyer was the obvious choice despite Clark's higher ceiling. Beyer was smaller and Michigan had Roh to be a more solid edge defender, but only Clark to be a merchant of chaos (remember the Sugar Bowl interception). On the other hand Frank had a rough history before Glenville, and could have used an adjustment season. Either way he would have been dismissed after last year's incident.</p>
<p align="center"><strong>Needed dudes etc.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Blake Countess</strong> and <strong>Desmond Morgan</strong> won starting jobs on the 2011 defensive reclamation project. They also both would lose a season to injury so we have them back yay. <strong>Thomas Rawls </strong>I'm not broken up about, though he will be a pretty good MAC back this year. RBs usually have most of the &quot;it&quot; they ever will as freshmen, and if they do become long-term starters the toll it takes on their bodies means they're often better off moving through their careers early. A redshirt year can make a guy a better blocker, or put some distance between a good back and his heir, or let a smaller guy fill in. <strong>Matt Wile</strong> is a special pass even though they wasted his redshirt on kickoff duties (and punting during Hagerup's first suspension). I learned recently that Wile made it clear from the start he intended to graduate in four years and do engineering things. </p>
<p><strong>[Save your anger for after the jump.]</strong></p>
<a name="more"></a><!--break--><!--break--><h3>Class of 2012</h3>
<p><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/burnin-shirts.jpg"><img title="burnin shirts" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="burnin shirts" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/burnin-shirts_thumb.jpg" width="564" height="295" /></a></p>
<p align="center"><em><font size="2">Because eff you 2016!</font></em></p>
<p>The moment we realized Hoke is a serial redshirt burner was the kickoff against Alabama; so much of the expected to redshirt portion of the Class of 2012 was on the field that karmic irony took the opportunity to strike down Blake Countess. We're looking at the list of 2015 seniors right now and some of them it feels like they should just be entering the prime, not the end, of their careers. In most of these cases we are correct.</p>
<p align="center"><strong>Wtf</strong></p>
<p><strong><font color="#ff0000"></font></strong><br />
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<td bgcolor="#ffffff"><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/IMG_7020.jpg"><img title="IMG_7020" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="IMG_7020" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/IMG_7020_thumb.jpg" width="244" height="351" /></a></td>
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<td><font size="2" face="Calibri">I give them a pass for Wilson since they did it after Mike Williams's career was lost to injury. [Upchurch]</font></td>
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</p>
<p><strong><font color="#ff0000">Mario Ojemudia</font></strong> was 225 pounds soaking wet, though dude was so slippery the water didn't add much. He got a fair amount of run anyway despite Clark and Beyer being ahead of him. Maybe when minor injuries pocked the depth chart they would have been forced to use him, but that shirt was gone from the kickoff against Alabama, despite Mattison admitting the following spring that it's unfair to play a defensive end at 230.</p>
<p>From there it gets even less explicable. <strong><font color="#ff0000">Sione Houma</font></strong> was wasted entirely on special teams, making 1.5 tackles.</p>
<p><font color="#ff0000"><strong>Royce Jenkins-Stone </strong><font color="#000000">was recruited for the SAM and was a raw obvious redshirt, yet there he is at the far left of the photo above, burning it against Alabama. Last year he began to look ready and the fist-shaking resumed in earnest. They'll still be shaking next year when he's gone.</font></font></p>
<p align="center"><strong>Pick ONE</strong></p>
<p>The linebackers. The starters from 2011 all returned; behind them Michigan still had Cam Gordon and the other guys who played WLB before Morgan locked down the job, but you knew right away that the backup middle linebacker spot would need one of the freshmen. The smart pick was <strong>Joe Bolden </strong>because he arrived in spring and seized the #2 role, so we figured <strong><font color="#ff0000">James Ross</font></strong> would get the luxury of a redshirt. When they got on the field Ross was the one who looked way more instinctual, but he was also too small to take on blocks and it showed. He needed the year, and next year when there are no linebackers I'll again be pretty upset he didn't, despite the utility of his 2012 snaps.</p>
<p align="center"><strong>Needed dudes etc.</strong></p>
<p align="left">Because Rich Rod didn't care to recruit tight ends until it was too late, and Hoke whiffed on the position in 2011, Michigan had to play both <strong>A.J. Williams</strong> and <strong>Devin Funchess</strong>. Funchess the #19 edition wasn't any kind of blocker, but made five starts and various freshman All America lists, and anyway was off to the NFL after three seasons. Williams wasn't any kind of good, but with Moore injured and an offensive coordinator who preferred heavy sets, there was no way A.J. could be brought along slowly. <font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><strong>Terry Richardson</strong> went</font> in when Countess went down and they made it up to him with a redshirt in 2013.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">One either/or they did right was Chesson/<strong>Amara Darboh</strong>—that was the year they were playing Gardner at receiver and after Gallon/Roundtree was Dileo and a pile of Rodriguez recruiting whiffs. Darboh didn't play much but after Nebraska Michigan was out Jerald Robinson and Gardner was at quarterback and Jeremy Jackson wasn't going to be more than he was, so it's more impressive they resisted burning Chesson's.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">So much of <strong>Dennis Norfleet</strong>'s career was his coaches not understanding how to use him, but one thing they were correct to do was use him as a returner in 2012. I wish they'd gotten a shirt on him in 2013, but you have to admit in all Borges's years of trolling Brian Cook, making Norfleet the backup to an unused Drew Dileo was a master stroke.</font></p>
<p><strong>Jarrod Wilson</strong> is a guy you redshirt if you can but it was obvious they needed to groom somebody for safety of the future since M-Rob and Furman were the extant backups; they did redshirt Jeremy Clark.</p>
<p><strong><font color="#000000">Ondre Pipkins</font></strong> deserves a medshirt he won't get because his injury occurred just after the cutoff. As a freshman though he was doing things:</p>
<p><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6KeU9kzOWes" frameborder="0" width="560" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>That's Pee Wee in his first collegiate game, blowing up All-of-America Barrett Jones in what would have been a TFL if Jake Ryan had been a bit more aggressive.</p>
<p><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/Pipkins.jpg"><img title="Pipkins" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="Pipkins" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/Pipkins_thumb.jpg" width="456" height="326" /></a></p>
<p>Q.E.D.</p>
<h3>Class of 2013</h3>
<p><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/9491838604_85deea9f0c_z.jpg"><img title="9491838604_85deea9f0c_z" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="9491838604_85deea9f0c_z" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/9491838604_85deea9f0c_z_thumb.jpg" width="564" height="378" /></a></p>
<p align="center"><font size="2"><em>Fuller</em></font></p>
<p align="center"><strong>Wtf</strong></p>
<p>The anger about some of these is coming out now because these guys are upperclassmen and thus running out of time when it feels like they shouldn't have been expected to contribute until this season anyway.</p>
<p>We'll start with <strong><font color="#ff0000">Dymonte Thomas</font></strong> because there was no explanation then or now or any moment in between. Unless he was promised early playing time it makes no sense that they burned him on special teams, since depth at safety was established with the previous class and he was a skinny linebacker in high school who needed to learn the position. Instead of a 5th year from Dymonte we got a blocked punt against Western Michigan /waves tiny flag.</p>
<p><strong><font color="#ff0000">Delano Hill</font>&#160;</strong>was perhaps an even bigger waste since he rotated with Dymonte on special teams, appearing in just seven games and once as a linebacker in clock kill time. Because both safeties were wasted this way, Michigan will have only its 2015 recruit at a position that requires a lot of experience come 2017 unless Jabrill is sticking around for what would be his redshirt junior season.</p>
<p><strong><font color="#ff0000">Ben Gedeon</font> </strong>at least looked ready to play his position if Michigan needed him to, but with Ross and Bolden and Morgan rolling for snaps in 2013 there was no need to waste a season of Gedeon. When all the linebackers graduate after 2015 we'll have one year of Gedeon left.<br />
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<td bgcolor="#ffffff"><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/15089061395_dc24b67cea_z.jpg"><img title="15089061395_dc24b67cea_z" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="15089061395_dc24b67cea_z" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/15089061395_dc24b67cea_z_thumb.jpg" width="244" height="414" /></a></td>
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<td><font size="2" face="Calibri">Or maybe they could have got a medshirt for him instead of reinserting him on special teams later in the year? It was probably after the cutoff. [Fuller]</font></td>
</tr>
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</p>
<p><strong><font color="#ff0000">Da'Mario Jones</font></strong> I don't know. Does anybody know? He played special teams but didn't even get one snap to practice his blocking at receiver in 2013. Perhaps as soon as he was made a slot receiver the coaches wanted him through as quickly as possible.</p>
<p><strong><font color="#ff0000">Taco Charlton</font> </strong>didn't get that many snaps but he also arrived college-ready so this one is more about the depth Michigan had that year in Clark, Ojemudia, and (once Jake Ryan came back) Beyer. On a team with strict redshirting they maybe make him wait rather than appear in eight games and scattered special teams. On a team that burns redshirts on the slightest pretense he plays because he can, and that's what I think happened here.</p>
<p align="center"><strong>Pick ONE</strong></p>
<p>Cornerback needed a freshman for nickel duties and played with both <strong><font color="#ff0000">Channing Stribling</font></strong> and <strong>Jourdan Lewis</strong>. I would have liked them to choose one and redshirt the other. Lewis only separated himself dramatically last season, when Stribling was a seldom-used backup. But Chan was 6'2&quot;/160 as a freshman so either of those years it makes sense to redshirt him.</p>
<p align="center"><strong>Needed the dudes, etc.</strong></p>
<p>With Toussaint and Hayes the only other scholarship backs on the roster, it was no surprise that <strong>Derrick Green</strong><strong>&#160;</strong>and <strong>De'veon Smith</strong> played early. Green was a 5-star, and Smith was Michigan's most effective back by the end of the year. <strong>Jake Butt </strong>had to play because the tight end situation was still very much unresolved after Williams and Funchess's freshman year.</p>
<p><strong>Shane Morris </strong>is a special situation; Michigan didn't recruit a quarterback the year ahead of him because Hoke preferred to pick a QB of the future and have that guy recruit his class. Morris needed a redshirt badly after a senior season wracked by mono, and he was pretty raw to boot. But Morris was also immediately the No. 2 quarterback, and Russ Bellomy's ACL made Morris the only other scholarship quarterback in a year when Michigan's best pass blocker was Gardner's ribs.</p>
<p><strong>Kyle Bosch </strong>was redshirting until the OL disaster, when he was inserted as a see-what-sticks option; with a lot of OL in his class that was fine.</p>
<h3>Class of 2014</h3>
<p align="center"><strong>Needed the dudes, etc:</strong></p>
<p><strong>Jabrill Peppers</strong> would have played on any Michigan roster since 2009, when Peppers was 13. <strong>Mason Cole</strong> started at left tackle over Erik Magnusson, the guy we pegged as a lock in the previews.</p>
<p><strong>Bryan Mone </strong>was a legitimate Alan Branch-as-a-freshman level contributor who had to play because Pipkins was still coming back from his ill-timed ACL early last year; Mone even started the Penn State game, FWIW.</p>
<p><strong>Freddy Canteen </strong>is on the border. He left spring ahead of the other young receivers and expectations of Manningham 2005 production; alas he proved too small and wasn't used very much. They could have redshirted him but I understand why they didn't.</p>
<p>According to the spring roster they got shirts on Mo Ways and Brandon Watson that weren't listed last year; I thought I saw Watson against Penn State but I couldn't read jerseys that well on the blue unis so maybe it was Jourdan Lewis. So I guess they learned finally.</p>
http://mgoblog.com/content/h4-burned-redshirts-order-argh#commentsal borges hates meben gedeonbrady hoke has no need for your fancy utensilsbrady hoke is trollingbrady hoke needs to coach betterbrennen beyerchanning striblingda'mario jonesdymonte thomash4hokepointsi hate burning redshirts just for blockingi hate burning redshirts on special teamsjames rossmario ojemudiaraymon taylorredshirtroyce jenkins-stonetaco charltonTue, 10 Mar 2015 16:53:22 +0000Seth95808 at http://mgoblog.comMonday Presser 11-17-14: Brady Hokehttp://mgoblog.com/content/monday-presser-11-17-14-brady-hoke
<p><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/mgoupload/MondayPresser111714BradyHoke_FF32/Hokepresser2.jpg"><img title="Hoke presser 2" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Hoke presser 2" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/mgoupload/MondayPresser111714BradyHoke_FF32/Hokepresser2_thumb.jpg" width="504" height="337" /></a> </p>
<p align="center"><em>file</em></p>
<p align="left"><strong>News bullets and other items:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>
<div align="left">Hoke said that domestic violence is one of the first things they talk about in team meetings at the beginning of the year and they talk to the team about it at least four times per year</div>
</li>
<li>
<div align="left">Hoke said after they had received all the necessary information the decision to dismiss Frank Clark from the program essentially made itself </div>
</li>
<li>
<div align="left">Hoke has not spoken with Clark but does plan to speak with him at some point</div>
</li>
<li>
<div align="left">Mario Ojemudia will start at WDE with Taco Charlton behind him</div>
</li>
<li>
<div align="left">Henry Poggi moves to SDE to back up Brennen Beyer</div>
</li>
</ul>
<p align="left"><strong>Opening remarks:</strong></p>
<p>&quot;Obviously you all know and we put a statement out, I put a statement out, let's put it that way, we had a situation during the bye week with a young man making a bad decision and after getting all the facts that we could get and I could get I made the decision to dismiss Frank Clark from the program. What was reported and all those things, and I'm sure you've been through it with a fine-tooth comb, was unacceptable and it was not what we want here associated with our program. I know in the statement I talked about it being tragic and domestic abuse is tragic. It's tragic on a national scale. It's tragic. Obviously it's somewhere in our society and we all need to do something about it, and being a husband and being a father [and] having two sisters it's a message that I send strongly to our football team about how we will handle ourselves with women. <br />&quot;That being said we're excited about Saturday. We're excited about playing Maryland, and the biggest excitement is that we've got 12 kids who are going to play their last home football game here at Michigan. We have 12 seniors. Two of them will have graduated. One of them will have his masters. The others will graduate either this fall at the end of fall or at the end of winter and we're very proud of what they've done representing the University of Michigan, and hopefully people will be in the stadium early so they can be honored and then we've got a great football game with Maryland.&quot; <br /><b></b></p>
<p><b></b></p>
<p><b>Maryland on film, especially defensively: what have you seen from them?</b> <br />&quot;Well, they do a lot and they've got a pretty big package, especially when you get into third downs. They've done a nice job of attacking the quarterback. I think they are one sack above us in the league when you look at it from a defensive standpoint. I think they run very well [and] I think they obviously if you watched Saturday night's game, which I know I did, that game was a heckuva game for a little while and then kind of got out of hand with the interception for a touchdown. But they're very impressive with what they can do. I think they've won three or four games on the road so they've played well on the road also.&quot; </p>
<p> <b></b>
</p><p><b>In light of how big an issue domestic violence has been mostly in the NFL this year have you spoken to the team before this weekend about that issue specifically?</b> <br />&quot;We speak about it constantly. Believe me, at least four times a year. We have people from the University come in. I've told our guys since day one that it won't be tolerated. It won't be tolerated in this program. All you have to do is think about I have a daughter who's 29. I have a wife. I have two sisters, And so that's always been probably one of the first things I talk about with our team least a couple times a year.&quot; <br /><b>You probably just answered that, but did the current climate with how big this issue has been influence how quickly you guys made a decision?</b> <br />&quot;No, it really didn't. The decision was made after getting all the information that we could and that I could, and in doing that there really was no decision to be made. I don't know if that sounded right but…&quot;</p>
<p><strong>[After THE JUMP: More on the Clark situation and young players who impressed in the intrasquad scrimmage]</strong></p>
<p> <b></b></p>
<a name="more"></a><!--break--><!--break--><p><b>When did you find out about the situation and have you spoken to Frank since?</b> <br />&quot;I have not spoken to Frank yet.&quot; <br /><b>Do you intend to?</b> <br />&quot;Oh, I'll talk to him sometime. There's no question about it. I look forward to talking to him. </p>
<p>&quot;About 8 o'clock Sunday morning. That's when I found out.&quot; <br /><b>What was your initial reaction considering the announcement was this morning?</b> <br />&quot;Number one, make sure you get both sides of every story because there's always two. Make sure you get all the information that you can, and we have character and integrity that we believe in and to make sure that we are abiding by those beliefs.&quot; <br /><b>Is there something you found out this morning that you didn't know last night when you released a statement?</b> <br />&quot;No, no. I just wanted to make sure that we're correct in everything we were doing.&quot; <br /><b></b></p>
<p><b>Clark was somebody you had given a second chance to. [He] had prior issues. The whole issue of second chances; do you almost feel little bit burned by and then he got into trouble again, and how much of a risk is it to take second chances?</b> <br />&quot;I don't feel burned by anything. I feel it's just something that can't be tolerated. And I think you got 18- to 22-year-olds, and maybe we all made better decisions than they did, I don't know, but I know that we all and they – there's a standard that we believe in and I believe in in how you represent yourself and more importantly in how you represent this program and that's one of the things we talk about is I'm going to make decisions that are best for this program. Not for a person, not for a coach, not for– what's best for this program. I don't feel burned, no. That's part of mentoring and you feel like you failed a little bit. Let's put it that way.&quot; <br /><b>It seems like he had grown as a leader, certainly more publicly in that regard. Your level of disappointment or shock?</b> <br />&quot;Yeah, Bobby, I wouldn't – you even been called Bobby in a long time? I'm sorry. </p>
<p><i>/Laughs.</i></p>
<p>&quot;I don't know where that came from.</p>
<p>&quot;To be honest with you you are disappointed, and the lessons as a teacher and as a mentor and as a coach, that's what you're trying to do and that's why I got into coaching. That bores you when I talk about it but that's why I got into it. To help develop kids, because I had a coach the cared about me. Cared about me not just [as] a player.&quot; <br /><b></b></p>
<p><b>This may be what you just answered, but the success stories that you've seen of someone that's struggled and then kind of been put back on their feet…does that make it worth it to take those chances?</b> <br />&quot;Yeah, and I think you've got to evaluate the word chance. What exactly is it? And I think there's no question that there've been so many positives with guys who have come through this program, guys who went through the Ball State program when we were there, and San Diego State that learned some hard lessons and paid some dear consequences. Obviously Frank's going to deal with some difficult consequences, but at the same time i'm going to support Frank to get back on his feet and keep growing as a man.&quot; <br /><b> <br />Is there any part of you that says 'Okay, what's it going to be today' when you wake up? It's been that kind of year.</b> <br /><i>/Laughs</i></p>
<p>&quot;Yeah, it's been one of those years but honestly our focus, you may think I'm nuts, but it's on those 115 kids. That's what I focus on, and if I don't do that I'm going to get distracted because this guy says this or this is what some alum thanks. I do know we are doing the right thing for these kids in this program. The harsh reality of it is I did the right thing today.&quot; <br /><b></b></p>
<p><b>You said Devin's [Gardner] moving around a little bit better. There's more things you can do with him in the offense, do you think, when he's –</b> <br />&quot;Yeah, and there's no question. I think just watching him, and he practiced last night and we had a very good practice- I think this is as close to healthy as he's been in the last six weeks. And does it open up some things because of his ability? Yeah, I think so.&quot; <br /><b></b></p>
<p><b>I think this is the fifth arrest in the past 12 months for football players here-</b> <br />&quot;It may be, I don't know. I don't count.&quot; <br /><b>Is there initial worry about discipline or an issue or some type of pattern that you see?</b> <br />&quot;Yeah, I have no worries about how we handle our kids or what we do with them, the consequences they pay for anything. I have no issues with that. I just know that we live in an imperfect world and sometimes there are mistakes that are made and for us to abandon ship, depending on the circumstances, I think is giving up on what's great about our country and developing men, because we need to develop men.&quot;</p>
<p><b></b></p>
<p><b>How do you compensate for Frank's absence? Will you move somebody over there?</b> <br />&quot;Yeah. What we'll do, and we did this a little bit last week, is Taco will go over with Ojemudia. Mario will be the guy who will take the first snaps and then Taco will go over there. Henry Poggi will come in and be Beyer's back up, and Henry- really, he's done a nice job. We scrimmaged. We talked about that I think we did on Wednesday. Really did some really good things. We went into Northwestern a little bit with a concern because Frank had banged up his knee a little bit, so we were a little concerned going into that game what we would get out of him so we kind of were already there doing that kind of rotation.&quot;</p>
<p><b></b></p>
<p><b>I know you said you haven't talked a lot about it to the team, but what would it mean after the early struggles this team has had to actually become bowl eligible?</b></p>
<p>&quot;One thing about this team, they have been unified. They have stayed together. They've probably listened to the stuff out there and at the same time they've done a great job of shutting it off. I think we have an identity of what kind of team we are. We're not very flashy. We're not going to score a lot of points. We've got to play well in the kicking game, and Maryland really presents a challenge there with their return game. And defensively we've got to be very good in the red zone and try and create some turnovers. We've done that in the last couple games but we also need to take care of the football still. I don't know if I answered your question. Did I?&quot;</p>
<p><b>Taking that step to make it to a bowl after it didn't look like early on-</b></p>
<p>&quot;Yeah, we haven't talked about that. We've talked about a three-game season, and that started with Indiana because the fourth game, the last game on the schedule you know. If you have any fiber of Michigan in you you know what that game is, so we focused on these three games and playing the best football we can, playing as a team, and out-compete and out-challenge in everything that we do.&quot;</p>
<p><b></b></p>
<p><b>Just a follow-up to the question about off the field stuff. Can you kind of just go over your criteria for allowing second chances?</b></p>
<p>&quot;No. I think every situation is different. There's too many hypotheticals out there to be honest with you, because every one of them are different. Some are bigger than others. Believe me, there's consequences that guys pay that aren't any fun.&quot;</p>
<p><i></i></p>
<p><i>SID</i>: Bob.</p>
<p><b>Maybe the answer to this is-</b></p>
<p>&quot;Bob. Bobby.&quot;</p>
<p><b>Robert. Maybe the answer to this is obvious but with all the latest has this been the toughest season of your professional career?</b></p>
<p>&quot;Externally for some of that stuff, some things that have come up, maybe. But internally, to watch these guys work every day, which I've said at every press conference you've sat in, they truly come out and work every day and they compete. That is rewarding. We don't have an attitude problem here or there. If not they call each other out on it and so that's been really rewarding, and I think that's part of the leadership that guys are giving; even the senior level, but through the team itself. Some of the younger guys.</p>
<p><b>I know you said you talk to the kids routinely about domestic violence. Did you meet with the team today at all about it?</b></p>
<p>&quot;No, not yet. I will. I will.&quot;</p>
<p><b>And will that be just a reminder that this isn't-</b></p>
<p>&quot;Well, I think there's a lot of things you want to talk about with them as a coach, as their coach. I think that will obviously be one of them. I've seen some of the guys already, some of the older guys, and I've talked to them about it so yeah, we're going to meet and we'll talk about the situation and will we remind them of behavior and decisions? No question about it.&quot;</p>
<p><b> <br /></b></p>
<p><b>To follow up on Wojo's question there, with this year being tough and whether it's the toughest year you've had or not how has it changed you as a coach or has it at all, just going through everything you have?</b></p>
<p>&quot;You know what, I think it's been an enjoyable year. No, not really. It is what it is. Leadership's supposed to be hard. I mean, that's part of what this is so to be honest with you it's part of leadership. Look, there's worse things that can happen in this world than going through some tough things from a professional or team standpoint.&quot;</p>
<p><b></b></p>
<p><b>You mentioned Poggi. Other guys in the young guys scrimmage that caught your eye or stood out?</b></p>
<p>&quot;Yeah, well, I think when you look up front I thought Logan Tuley-Tillman was doing a lot of good things. Linebacker-wise Chase Winovich is a guy who- Jared Wangler, Jack Wangler. You know, what I'm going to do is not mention a guy and then I'm going to feel bad. Wilton Speight was...because quarterbacks were live, which we don't do a lot with the quarterbacks, he stood in there and threw it and did a nice job. Da'Mario, because Da'Mario, we played him in it. There's quite a few of them and I'm not going to get every one of them.&quot;</p>
<p><b></b></p>
<p><b>You said each incident is a different thing, how you deal with it. Did you consult with anybody? Do you have to consult Hackett or anything?</b></p>
<p>&quot;Well, I talked to Jim [Hackett] but the thing about Jim is my decisions are how we're going to run the football program and that was my decision.&quot;</p>
<p><b>With the five arrests that were mentioned do you go back and think what could I have done differently or do change how you approach talking to the guys about certain issues that may come up?</b></p>
<p>&quot;You know what, the one thing, and this is not arrogance, but we covered everything pretty well because I know how I was in college so we covered everything pretty well.&quot;</p>
<p><b>Can I ask one more?</b></p>
<p>&quot;Sure. Go ahead. Sing.&quot;</p>
<p><b>Any update on Derrick Green and what his status might be?</b></p>
<p>&quot;No. No update yet.&quot;</p>
<p><b>You hear about players growing through adversity often. Do you feel like you've grown as a coach through all the stuff you've had to go through?</b></p>
<p>&quot;Yeah, that's a good point and I think you're right, I think you do. I think when you have the opportunity to enjoy adversity and keep focused on what really is important I think you grow.&quot;</p>
http://mgoblog.com/content/monday-presser-11-17-14-brady-hoke#commentsbrady hokebrady hoke gets itda'mario jonesfrank clarkhenry poggijack wanglerjared wanglermario ojemudiapress conference transcriptstaco charltonwilton speightactual reportingMon, 17 Nov 2014 23:08:55 +0000Adam Schnepp92145 at http://mgoblog.comThis Week’s Obsession: Redshirt Oddsmakershttp://mgoblog.com/content/week%E2%80%99s-obsession-redshirt-oddsmakers
<p><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/redshirts_thumb_1.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="redshirts_thumb" border="0" alt="redshirts_thumb" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/redshirts_thumb_thumb_0.jpg" width="560" height="326" /></a></p>
<p>It’s redshirt roundtable time. Our recruits:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Brian Cook:</strong> 6’3/215, 5 stars, quarterback out of Michigan, rescues kittens</li>
<li><strong>Seth Fisher:</strong> 6’1/235, 3.5 stars, FB/TE tweener from Michigan, runs three homeless shelters</li>
<li><strong>Ace Anbender:</strong> 6’0/185, 4 stars, defensive back from Michigan, spends free time driving old ladies to church</li>
<li><strong>Blue in South Bend:</strong> 5’11/202, 5 stars, running back from ???, spent 5 years in a foreign country (Indiana) teaching the natives how to sanitize their water</li>
<li><strong>Heiko Yang:</strong> “5’9”/165, 4 stars, slot receiver from Ohio, committed early because he got tired of coaches calling and asking him to date their daughters.</li>
<li><strong>Coach Brown:</strong> 6’4/260, 5 stars, strongside linebacker from South Carolina, holds record for most keys to cities</li>
<li><strong>Mathlete:</strong> 5’10/180, 4 stars, cornerback from Kansas. Never around when Superman is; isn’t that so weird…?</li>
</ul>
<p>And the question:</p>
<p><strong>Time to guess which freshmen are redshirting this year--which will make to 2014 with freshman eligibility, and which won't but would if you were running the team.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Brian: </strong>First, I would like to congratulate [Seth] on [being awesome]. But nevermind all that. To the redshirtmobile! </p>
<p align="center"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="redshirtmobile" border="0" alt="redshirtmobile" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/redshirtmobile_thumb.jpg" width="544" height="308" /><em></em></p>
<p align="center"><em><font size="2">One of the advantages of press credentials are all the free Batmobile golf carts. This is what we did with ours.</font></em></p>
<p><b><em>[After the jump: answers and answers in chart form]</em></b></p>
<a name="more"></a><!--break--><!--break--><p><b>LOCKS</b></p>
<ul>
<li>OL Chris Fox </li>
<li>OL Logan Tuley-Tillman </li>
<li>OL Dan Samuelson </li>
<li>OL David Dawson </li>
<li>CB Reon Dawson </li>
<li>CB Channing Stribling </li>
<li>DT Maurice Hurst Jr. </li>
<li>DT Henry Poggi </li>
<li>WR Jaron Dukes </li>
<li>WR Csont'e York </li>
</ul>
<p>OL are obvious, but Michigan's a year away from putting every last OL into the redshirt lock category. Dawson and Stribling weigh about as much as Terry Richardson but are a half-foot taller. Hurst and Poggi are 260-270 pound interior linemen. No one has said word one about Dukes and York this fall and they have at least six guys on the depth chart in front of them, plus maybe Funchess and Butt.</p>
<p>EXTREMELY PROBABLE</p>
<ul>
<li>OL Chris Bosch </li>
<li>OL Patrick Kugler </li>
<li>WR Da'Mario Jones </li>
<li>HB Wyatt Shallman </li>
</ul>
<p>These two OL could play if things go pear-shaped, but it's a real longshot. Jones is probably the guy if Michigan plays a freshman WR this year, but why would they? Especially since all three guys are middling recruits. Shallman was injured for two straight years in HS and played almost exclusively defense, plus there are two other freshman backs in the class.</p>
<p>PROBABLE</p>
<ul>
<li>LB Mike McCray </li>
<li>LB Ben Gedeon </li>
<li>CB Ross Douglas </li>
</ul>
<p>The linebackers have a solid, young two-deep in front of them. There are no seniors at the ILB spots these guys are at, so why burn redshirts? Maybe for special teams. But that would be dumb. There are four veteran Douglas-shaped corners on the roster already and they've been getting talked up a lot more than him.</p>
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<td><font size="2" face="Calibri"><strong>Smith is Michigan’s best #3 option but the depth chart may have too many #4 options to need him yet.</strong></font></td>
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<p>50/50</p>
<ul>
<li>RB De'Veon Smith </li>
<li>TE Khalid Hill </li>
<li>CB Jourdan Lewis </li>
</ul>
<p>Smith probably should redshirt, but if he's pushing Green early he probably gets thrown out there. Hill may or may not immediately find himself useful enough in the redzone to play. Lewis probably isn't going to play much defense, but he's a real threat to grab a return job.</p>
<p>NOPE</p>
<ul>
<li>QB Shane Morris </li>
<li>RB Derrick Green </li>
<li>DE Taco Charlton </li>
<li>S Dymonte Thomas </li>
<li>TE Jake Butt </li>
<li>S Delano Hill </li>
</ul>
<p>Morris is the backup QB, Thomas may start at nickel, Green is definitely getting carries, Charlton is already 270. Butt enrolled early and is the nearest thing to Funchess on the roster; plus you know Borges is putting 3 TE sets on the field this year. He put 3 TE sets on the field last year, he's doing it this year. Hill's been getting some talk from the coaches, is in a spot that Michigan needs to blood some guys in a hurry (especially if Avery does contribute a lot at S, that would be two seniors), and is the kind of guy you throw on special teams easy.</p>
<p>Which of these will I be irritated by? The linebackers, if they get put on STs. Linebacker is a spot at which experience is really awesome to have and giving up fifth years so McCray and Gedeon can cover some punts this year when they have zero shot of getting on the two deep would be bad. Anyone else (who has a faint hope of seeing the field) wouldn't move my redshirt jihad needle.</p>
<p align="center">--------------------------</p>
<p align="left"><strong>Heiko: </strong>Redshirt to be burned in event of ...</p>
<p>Apocalypse: Jaron Dukes, Csont'e York, Reon Dawson, Jourdan Lewis, All OL, Henry Poggi, Khalid Hill</p>
<p>Injury to a starter: Ross Douglas, Channing Stribling, Delano Hill</p>
<p>Injury to Amara Darboh: DaMario Jones</p>
<p>Can't be kept off the field due to practice performance: Wyatt Shallman, Deveon Smith, Mike McCray, Ben Gedeon, Dymonte Thomas, Maurice Hurst, Jr.</p>
<p>Water is wet: Taco Charlton, Shane Morris, Derrick Green, Butt</p>
<p>Brady Hoke cares about what I think: Taco, Morris, Green, Wyatt Shallman, Channing Stribling, Dymonte Thomas</p>
<p align="center">--------------------------</p>
<p><strong>Coach Brown: </strong>I think all of the offensive linemen will redshirt because there actually seems to be decent depth there for the first time in a while. So Bosch, Dawson, Fox, Samuelson, Tuley-Tillman, and long-snapper Sypniewski will all receive redshirts for sure, and even though the center position is a bit thin right now, I think Kugler probably redshirts too. Tough to play o-line as a true frosh. </p>
<p>Jake Butt is going to play. He already has college size, enrolled early, and has been billed as a solid combination of blocking and pass-catching. Tight end is still a bit thin as far as experience goes, so I think he gets in there. Khalid Hill is also big enough to play, but I'm not sure he has a spot just yet so I think he redshirts. </p>
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<td><font size="2" face="Calibri"><strong>This photo (by Fuller) exists so we can make a metaphorical caption about how Taco can’t be held back from playing this season</strong></font></td>
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<p>Taco will play early and often, and I'm really excited to see what he's capable of. Hurst has the size already but I haven't heard a ton about him and he probably redshirts behind similar guys like Q, Pipkins, and Ash. Poggi is a technician but he's not big enough yet, he'll redshirt as well. </p>
<p>The secondary is young and will remain young as I see a bunch of true freshmen playing this season. I'm not quite sure about Reon Dawson. He's slight, but he's long and fast, so I think the coaches might try to get a look at him somewhere in mop-up duty. I think he plays a little bit. Ross Douglas got some praise in the spring and apparently plays very fast so I think he probably gets in there too. Since the onset of fall camp Delano Hill's name has come up a lot and he has been seen on some of the practice clips making plays so I think he definitely will see the field this year. Coach Hoke says he likes Jourdan Lewis in the return game and even though he is rail-thin, he's a playmaker and will probably get a chance to show those skills a little bit. I haven't heard much about Stribling since he arrived on campus so I assume he'll redshirt to get a little bigger and more comfortable. Dymonte is a future-star. He'll play a lot this season and I believe will make some big plays when he's in there. </p>
<p>I think the three wide receiver commits, Dukes, Jones, and York all redshirt. The receiver rotation probably won't go very deep. </p>
<p>I think both Gedeon and McCray will get some playing time on special teams at least if nothing else. Gedeon has posted some pretty sick numbers as far as speed, lifting, and size so I wouldn't be surprised to see him in there to see if it translates to the field. McCray also has great size and runs very well so he could get a look too even though the linebacking corps already seems pretty deep. </p>
<p>I think Derrick Green might get a look. Maybe. Shallman appears to be in on a lot of action during the practice highlights too, so I'm thinking the coaches like his versatility at 6'3&quot; and nearly 250 lbs. Deveon Smith is kind of the lost back in this class even though he looks like he could be a very productive back. Just because the backfield is a bit crowded right now, I think he's a redshirt candidate. </p>
<p>Unfortunately Shane is going to have to play a little bit. I think he's the obvious #2 heading into the season and will probably play just in case he HAS to play at some point. He's being groomed as the QB of the future and he's going to have to learn quickly. </p>
<p>So in conclusion: </p>
<p>Redshirts - Kyle Bosch, David Dawson, Jaron Dukes, Chris Fox, Khalid Hill, Maurice Hurst, Da'Mario Jones, Patrick Kugler, Henry Poggi, Dan Samuelson, Deveon Smith, Channing Stribling, Scott Sypniewski, Logan Tuley-Tillman, and Csont'e York. </p>
<p>Freshmen on the Field - Jake Butt, Taco Charlton, Reon Dawson, Ross Douglas, Ben Gedeon, Derrick Green, Delano Hill, Jourdan Lewis, Mike McCray, Shane Morris, Wyatt Shallman, and Dymonte Thomas.</p>
<p align="center">--------------------------</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/9491838604_85deea9f0c_c.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="9491838604_85deea9f0c_c" border="0" alt="9491838604_85deea9f0c_c" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/9491838604_85deea9f0c_c_thumb.jpg" width="564" height="377" /></a></strong></p>
<p align="center"><em><font size="2">Let’s pause and play “Is the freshman defensive back smaller than a Norfleet?” 44 is Delano Hill, 8 is Channing Stribling, 29 is Ross Douglas. Photographer is Fuller</font></em></p>
<p><strong>BiSB: </strong>Michigan played 12 true freshmen last year, and 8 the year before. This staff hasn't exactly shied away from playing young guys, but not always in the manner we expect. Last year, Kyle Kalis was absolutely going to play, and we figured we'd only see the 113-pound Terry Richardson on the field if the rest of the defensive backfield came down with plague, scurvy, and gingivitis at the same time. The coaches have a bigger picture in mind that involves next year's roster, next year's recruiting plan, etc. So we're largely the dude in Plato's cave on this one, but we'll give it a shot anyway, because internet.</p>
<p>Everyone agrees on Taco, Shane, Green, Dymonte, and Jake Butt. I'd love to see them be able to redshirt Shane and Butt, but the depth chart is a fickle beast. I'm also going to throw Mike McCray comfortably into the &quot;probably gonna play&quot; category. As for the DBs, I don't have the slightest clue. Three or four will probably play, but damned if I know which. I'll guess Delano Hill based on buzz and general reputation of being mentally ahead of the game, Jourdan Lewis because of his ability to contribute to the return game. and one of Ross Douglas or Channing Stribling because why not. Toss a coin, Douglas plays.</p>
<p>I don't see the coaches playing both freshmen linebackers, so despite his freakish reputation I think Ben Gedeon redshirts. OL redshirt because OL, unless injuries strike really hard, in which case maybe Kugler or Bosch sees the field. The logjam at running back probably dictates Smith and Shallman redshirts, though I get that gut feeling that we see one of them. Sounds like Khalid Hill isn't quite in game shape, so he waits. If DT depth wasn't as solid as it is, I'd guess Hurst plays, but he wouldn't be much of a special teams contributor so I don't know if he burns a redshirt for a few dozen snaps. Poggi might have played if he didn't come in at 260; reshaping his body is certainly beneficial long-term, but the laws of physics dictate he sits.</p>
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<td><font size="2" face="Calibri"><strong>This is Jaron Dukes. Those are why we are saying he’s a redshirt prospect despite the Darboh injury</strong></font></td>
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<p>Since Brandon wrote his bit, Amara Darboh NOOOOOOOO'd his way into a redshirt year after tearing our collective soul-dong/something in his foot. I know Jaron Dukes almost certainly isn't game-ready, but he's the most Darboh of the freshmen, so into the fire with thee. More realistically it'll be some combination of Joe Reynolds, Jehu Chesson, Jake Butt and Jeremy Jackson filling those snaps.</p>
<p><strong>Mathlete: </strong>Assuming the coaches had about the numbers they wanted last season, a netting of ins and outs by position should give a good indication of where they might be looking for bodies:</p>
<p><strong>Quarterback:</strong> Gone: Robinson, Off Redshirt: none</p>
<p>Shane Morris will not redshirt unless Devin stays incredibly healthy or he develops a back injury that yields him a retroactive redshirt</p>
<p><strong>Running Back:</strong> Gone: Smith, Off Redshirt: Johnson</p>
<p>Derrick Green is definitely playing, probably not paying on that B1G Rushing Title wager, but definitely playing. Running back is the position with the least benefit for a redshirt but Deveon Smith should be your class of 2014 running back.</p>
<p><strong>Fullback:</strong> Gone: Hopkins, Off Redshirt: none</p>
<p>Wyatt Shallman should be in a good position to find a role for this offense.</p>
<p><strong>Wide Receiver: </strong>Gone: Robinson, Miller, Roundtree, Darboh (for the season), Off Redshirt: Chesson</p>
<p>I don't think you're going to see all of the spots replaced and all three receivers burn a redshirt but it sure seems like 1-2 receivers will see the field this year.</p>
<p><strong>Tight End:</strong> Gone: Moore, Off Redshirt: none</p>
<p>All signs point to more tight end/U back/flex roles so some of those WR spots should be taken by tight end types, I see Butt and Hill both contributing this year.</p>
<p><strong>Offensive Line:</strong> Gone: Omameh, Mealer, Barnum, Off Redshirt: Magnuson, Bars, Braden, Kalis</p>
<p>If Kalis didn't play last season, no one should this year. Kugler is the one guy where a scenario could present itself but probably redshirts all around.</p>
<p><strong>Defensive Line:</strong> Gone: Wilkins, Campbell, Brink, Roh, Off Redshirt: Henry, Wormley, Strobel, Godin</p>
<p>Taco Charlton seems destined for a Mario Ojemudia type true freshman pass rusher role but can't see anyone else playing this season.</p>
<p><strong>Linebackers: </strong>Gone: Poole, Ringer, Demens, Jones, Hawthorne, Off Redshirt: Gant</p>
<p>Even though only Demens was a major contributor, linebackers will need some depth and also make great special teamers. I think both Gedeon and McCray play this year.</p>
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<tbody>
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<td bgcolor="#ffffff"><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/9492930637_b21ba3277f_z.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="9492930637_b21ba3277f_z" border="0" alt="9492930637_b21ba3277f_z" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/9492930637_b21ba3277f_z_thumb.jpg" width="244" height="364" /></a> </td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td><font size="2" face="Calibri"><strong>Dymonte Thomas will play nickel this year, and maybe some regular cornerback and safety too.</strong></font></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><strong>Defensive Backs: </strong>Gone: Robinson, Floyd, Kovacs, Off Redshirt: Clark, Countess</p>
<p>Dymonte Thomas may have the biggest role of any true freshmen. Beyond him it seems like 1 maybe 2 additional DBs will see the field this year. Jourdan Lewis seems like the most likely candidate, especially since whoever plays is probably helping out in the return game. Lewis and Stribling would be my most likely choices.</p>
<p>So that is 11-13 players playing depending on how WR and DB shake out. Without an official study, my gut says the importance of redshirting by position would look something like this QB&gt;OL&gt;WR&gt;DL&gt;DB&gt;LB&gt;RB. Based on the ins and outs and last season that seems to be generally in line with the coaches' philosophy, obviously dependent on a specific need at a given position.</p>
<p><strong>Ace: </strong>Redshirt unless DOOM: Kyle Bosch, David Dawson, Reon Dawson, Chris Fox, Henry Poggi, Channing Stribling, Logan Tuley-Tillman, Csont'e York</p>
<p>Break glass in case of emergency, but not necessarily DOOM: Jaron Dukes, Delano Hill, Patrick Kugler</p>
<p>Amara Darboh injury replacement: Da'Mario Jones (yes, Jones is more of&#160; a slot, but he's the most college-ready of the three incoming receivers)</p>
<p>Potential special teams or depth role: Ben Gedeon, Khalid Hill, Maurice Hurst Jr., Jourdan Lewis (as a return man; if not, redshirt), Mike McCray, Wyatt Shallman, DeVeon Smith</p>
<p>Gonna play: Taco Charlton, Derrick Green, Shane Morris, Dymonte Thomas</p>
<p><strong>Seth: </strong>Chart?</p>
<p><strong>Collective Bolded Subconscious of MGoBlog Staff: </strong>CHART!</p>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr class="odd">
<th>Name</th>
<th>Pos.</th>
<th>Brian</th>
<th>Coach</th>
<th>Heiko</th>
<th>BiSB</th>
<th>Mathlete</th>
<th>Ace</th>
<th>Seth</th>
<th>Mgo%</th>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<th colspan="10">Quarterbacks</th>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>Morris</td>
<td>QB</td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>0%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<th colspan="10">Running Backs</th>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>Green</td>
<td>RB</td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>0%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>Smith</td>
<td>RB</td>
<td>50/50</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>- </td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>50/50</td>
<td>- </td>
<td>48%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>Shallman</td>
<td>FB</td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>50/50</td>
<td>- </td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>- </td>
<td>50/50</td>
<td>50/50</td>
<td>38%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<th colspan="10">Receivers and Tight Ends</th>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>D. Jones</td>
<td>SL</td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>50/50</td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>- </td>
<td>50/50</td>
<td>52%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>Dukes</td>
<td>WR</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>50/50</td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>50/50</td>
<td>71%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>York</td>
<td>WR</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>95%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>Butt</td>
<td>TE</td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>0%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>K. Hill</td>
<td>TE</td>
<td>50/50</td>
<td>- </td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>33%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<th colspan="10">Offensive Line</th>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>Kugler</td>
<td>OC</td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>76%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>Bosch</td>
<td>OG</td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>86%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>D. Dawson</td>
<td>OG</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>100%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>Fox</td>
<td>OT</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>100%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>Samuelson</td>
<td>OG</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>100%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>LTT</td>
<td>OT</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>100%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<th colspan="10">Defensive Line</th>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>Hurst</td>
<td>DT</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>- </td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>50/50</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>76%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>Poggi</td>
<td>DT</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>100%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>Taco</td>
<td>DE</td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>0%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<th colspan="10">Linebackers</th>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>Gedeon</td>
<td>WLB</td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>33%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>McCray</td>
<td>SAM</td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>50/50</td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>- </td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>38%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<th colspan="10">Defensive Backs</th>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>D. Thomas</td>
<td>Nk/S</td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>- </td>
<td>0%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>J. Lewis</td>
<td>CB</td>
<td>50/50</td>
<td>- </td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>- </td>
<td>50/50</td>
<td>50/50</td>
<td>- </td>
<td>29%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>D. Hill</td>
<td>S</td>
<td>- </td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>- </td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>- </td>
<td>43%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>R. Douglas</td>
<td>CB</td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>- </td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>- </td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>52%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>R. Dawson</td>
<td>CB</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>50/50</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>76%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>Stribling</td>
<td>S</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>Probable</td>
<td>50/50</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>76%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<th colspan="10">Special Teams</th>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>Sypniewski</td>
<td>LS</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>Lock</td>
<td>100%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>I’d better explain myself:</p>
<p><strong>QB: </strong>Morris ought to redshirt; there’s just no way to do it. Gardner will scramble and extend plays with his legs in the backfield and that over the course of a season will lead to dings at the very least. The coaches can try to roll with Cleary for the early part of the schedule and pray Gardner can play through the dings later on, but it’s just not going to work out that way. Next year you have to give Morris some time so he can be prepared for it in 2015; if Gardner is looking like RG4 out there then the grooming starts right away.</p>
<p><strong>RB: </strong>Green won’t redshirt. I’m doubtful Smith will either since he’s looking like their best option near the goal line. Even Shallman is getting into the offense a lot. With him at least I’m still holding out for a redshirt next year as he learns to play SAM.</p>
<p><strong>WR/TE: </strong>Post Darboh injury the depth chart reads Gallon and Chesson at the Z, Reynolds and Jackson at the X, and Dileo/NORFLEET!!!! at the slot, with just about any of the first four liable to line up anywhere. All three incoming receivers should shirt but considering the recruits behind them they’re best served getting in now. York is the least likely to play since he’s a stick. Jones is the most ready but you guys are way overestimating how much this team needs a 3rd slot, especially since they’ll probably be using Jackson there or (preferably) flexing Funchess on 3rd down and inside the 20. I’m predicting Dukes or Jones and possibly both will see the field this year. Butt enrolled early and could use a shirt but depth won’t allow it. Regarding Khalid Hill he’s not even getting mentioned right now so you have to figure they’ll redshirt him, despite our weaponization plans.</p>
<table border="5" bordercolor="#ffffff" width="250" align="right">
<tbody>
<tr class="odd">
<td bgcolor="#ffffff"><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/9491744524_53dcd6e25c_c.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="9491744524_53dcd6e25c_c" border="0" alt="9491744524_53dcd6e25c_c" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/9491744524_53dcd6e25c_c_thumb.jpg" width="244" height="364" /></a> </td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td><font size="2" face="Calibri"><strong>Now that Gant is a linebacker, you can send him downfield on kickoffs instead of burning the 2017 linebacker depth chart. Right?</strong></font></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><strong>OL: </strong>They wouldn’t burn Kalis’s redshirt despite…that.</p>
<p><strong>DL: </strong>Depth and smaller incoming classes mean you want both of these guys redshirted. Taco is chomping at the bit, if a bit unrefined, plus M wants to rotate WDE to get pass rush and create separation for incoming guys.</p>
<p><strong>LB: </strong>Guh, please redshirt these guys; this is a position where the best young talent is already on the field and the next generation deserves some separation. If you need rugby player-shaped dudes to send downfield on kickoff coverage there’s C. Gordon, Beyer, Bolden, Gant, Clark, RJS, the fullbacks, Taco and Mario, and a&#160; lot of young LB and WR walk-ons. When playing a blue deck you must learn restraint.</p>
<p><strong>DB: </strong>Thomas will play and the CB depth chart needs at least one more safety and cornerback, so figure Delano Hill in the Jarrod Wilson Memorial Safety-Getting-Seasoning role, and Jourdan Lewis. If we dip one further I’ll take Reon Dawson since he’s not a smurf; Ross Douglas is ahead of him now because he played in spring but Douglas is a speedy field corner and we have a million mites there already.</p>
http://mgoblog.com/content/week%E2%80%99s-obsession-redshirt-oddsmakers#commentscsont'e yorkda'mario jonesdeveon smithi bet no one reads this whole thingi hate burning redshirts just for blockingi hate burning redshirts on special teamsjaron dukesjourdan lewiskhalid hillredshirtshane morristaco charltonthis week's obsessionWed, 21 Aug 2013 18:00:00 +0000Seth80678 at http://mgoblog.com2013 Recruiting: Da'Mario Joneshttp://mgoblog.com/content/2013-recruiting-damario-jones
<p><strong>Previously: </strong>CB <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/2013-recruiting-reon-dawson">Reon Dawson</a>, CB <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/2013-recruiting-channing-stribling">Channing Stribling</a>, S <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/2013-recruiting-delano-hill">Delano Hill</a>, S <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/2013-recruiting-dymonte-thomas">Dymonte Thomas</a>, CB <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/2013-recruiting-ross-douglas">Ross Douglas</a>, CB <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/2013-recruiting-jourdan-lewis">Jourdan Lewis</a>, LB <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/2013-recruiting-ben-gedeon">Ben Gedeon</a>, LB <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/2013-recruiting-mike-mccray">Mike McCray</a>, DE <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/2013-recruiting-taco-charlton?page=0%2C1">Taco Charlton</a>,<a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/2013-recruiting-maurice-hurst-jr">DT Maurice Hurst Jr</a>., DT <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/2013-recruiting-henry-poggi">Henry Poggi</a>, OL <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/2013-recruiting-patrick-kugler">Patrick Kugler</a>, OL <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/2013-recruiting-david-dawson">David Dawson</a>, OL<a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/2013-recruiting-logan-tuley-tillman">Logan Tuley-Tillman</a>, OL <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/2013-recruiting-kyle-bosch">Kyle Bosch</a>, OL <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/2013-recruiting-chris-fox">Chris Fox</a>, OL <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/2013-recruiting-dan-samuelson">Dan Samuelson</a>, TE <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/2013-recruiting-jake-butt">Jake Butt</a>, TE <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/2013-recruiting-khalid-hill">Khalid Hill</a>, HB <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/2013-recruiting-wyatt-shallman" target="_blank">Wyatt Shallman</a></p>
<div>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr class="odd">
<th width="100"></th>
<th>&#160;</th>
<th>&#160;</th>
<th></th>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td colspan="4" align="center"><strong>Westland, MI – 6'2&quot;, 195</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<th width="100">&#160;</th>
<th>&#160;</th>
<th></th>
<th>&#160;</th>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td height="200" rowspan="6" colspan="2">
<p align="center"><img title="1080136[1]" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="1080136[1]" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/2013-Recruiting-Damario-Jones_1466/10801361.jpg" width="229" height="304" /></p>
</td>
<th>Scout</th>
<td>
<p>3*, NR overall <br />#55 WR</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<th>Rivals</th>
<td>
<p>3*, NR overall <br />NR WR, #17 MI</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<th>ESPN</th>
<td>
<p>3*, NR overall <br />#83 WR, #12 MI</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<th>24/7</th>
<td>
<p>3*, NR overall&#160; <br />#155 WR, #20 MI</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<th>Other Suitors</th>
<td>
<p>CMU, MSU(?), UCLA(?), Georgia(?!?)</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<th><abbr title="you may remember me from such players as">YMRMFSPA</abbr></th>
<td>a poor man's Steve Breaston</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<th>Previously On MGoBlog</th>
<td colspan="3"><a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/hello-damario-jones" target="_blank">Hello post</a> from Ace.</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<th>Notes</th>
<td colspan="3">Westland John Glenn (Lloyd Carr!)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<th colspan="4" align="center">
<p>Film</p>
</th>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td colspan="4" align="center">
<p align="left">Senior highlights:</p>
<p align="center"><iframe height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/OloOBhd5Dqs" frameborder="0" width="420" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
<p><font style="background-color: #f8ffa4"></font></p>
<p>This used to happen quite a bit, but with the continuing expansion of recruiting coverage and Brady Hoke's chops on the trail not so much lately: there's not all that much out there on Da'Mario Jones. A Central Michigan commitment most of last year, Jones played on a team that <a href="http://www.freep.com/article/20121009/SPORTS06/121008098/recruiting-michigan-westland-glenn-damario-jones" target="_blank">only threw rarely</a>…</p>
<blockquote><p>Jones’ recruiting profile has been kept under the radar by his role in Glenn’s run-heavy offense, in which he’s used as a blocker and ball carrier more than a pass-catcher. He’s currently unranked by Rivals.com, despite good speed and displaying a knack for getting open in summer camp experiences. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>…and got most of his reps as a runner. He did not pop up on a lot of radars. <a href="http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1419775" target="_blank">I mean</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>Jones played wide receiver - where he was targeted on just one downfield pass, a fade route that was thrown well out of bounds - and running back, where he notched 35 yards on 8 carries, including a touchdown.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Compounding matters, when Ace suggested he should go scout the kid I said &quot;naw, man, Treadwell's coming,&quot; which <a href="http://247sports.com/Player/George-Campbell-19746" target="_blank">we can all laugh about now</a> but remains a bit of a facepalm from yours truly.</p>
<p align="left">What is out there suggests that Jones is a slot-ish guy in the Breaston mold (ie, tallish), albeit without the ludicrous film of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XReJ_6RTThw" target="_blank">going to work</a>. ESPN makes him sound like <a href="http://insider.espn.go.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/player/evaluation/_/id/157933/damario-jones" target="_blank">a poor man's version of our favorite punt returner</a>: </p>
<blockquote><p align="left">He may not be a great speed guy, but is fast enough. Has a good solid frame to work with, needs to add strength, but possesses very good measurables. Shows <strong>adequate-to-good speed</strong> on tape. Has good height and arm length. <strong>Long strider</strong> that has good, but not great quickness and is pretty high cut. Has some ability to stop and start, but <strong>lacks elite explosion</strong>. … Will need to add some more mass to hold up at the next level. <strong>Can be inconsistent as a catcher</strong>, shows ability to snatch the ball out of the air, away from his body, but also is a body catcher. … high cut build limits fluidity and lateral agility. <strong>Good, but not great with the ball in his hands</strong>. </p>
</blockquote>
<p align="left">Scout's profile <a href="http://michigan.scout.com/a.z?s=162&amp;p=8&amp;c=1&amp;nid=6374699" target="_blank">makes him sound like someone else entirely</a>, though:&#160; </p>
<blockquote><p><b>Scout.com Player Evaluation:</b></p>
<p><strong>STRENGTHS</strong></p>
<p><img src="http://media.scout.com/media/site_logo/eval_pro.gif" /> Body Control</p>
<p><img src="http://media.scout.com/media/site_logo/eval_pro.gif" /> Elusiveness with Catch</p>
<p><img src="http://media.scout.com/media/site_logo/eval_pro.gif" /> Hands and Concentration</p>
<p><strong>AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT</strong></p>
<p><img src="http://media.scout.com/media/site_logo/eval_con.gif" /> Route-Running Skills</p>
<p>Very good athlete who uses his tools to go up and make acrobatic catches. Has good body control, leaping ability, and good hands. He has good ability after the catch and open field skills which he has shown as a return man, running back, and a receiver. He just needs a little polish as a route runner, but he has a lot of the other tools you look for in a receiver. - Allen Trieu</p>
</blockquote>
<p align="left">This reads like a repurposed Moe Ways scouting report. Scout was by far the most enthused about Jones, FWIW, as they apparently caught a game of his in which he was actually targeted quite a bit. <a href="http://recruiting.scout.com/2/1232324.html" target="_blank">Jamie Newberg</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p> He's 6-foot-2, 195-pounds and has speed, elusiveness and great ball skills. The weather and the fact that Glenn jumped out to a huge lead limited his touches, but he scored on his first two touches, a long touchdown run where he lined up at tailback and took a pitch and the second on a 36-yard pass. He later had a jump ball in the end zone where he was ruled out, but outjumped the defender and came down with the ball. He has the physical tools you want, and I like what he can do in the open field in addition to what he does when the ball is in the air. </p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="http://touchthebanner.blogspot.com/2012/11/damario-jones-wolverine.html" target="_blank">Touch The Banner</a> sees him working underneath and maybe not being too good at snatching stuff out of the air:</p>
<blockquote><p>He's capable of getting separation from defensive backs, shows good footwork and route running, and has enough suddenness to set up double moves.&#160; He's not a shake-and-bake type, but he does show a knack for making a cut upfield after running laterally.&#160; Crossing routes should be an asset where he can catch the ball over the middle, look for a seam, and then gain extra yards.&#160; He also doesn't shy away from contact, so he should turn into a plus blocker and gain yards that some receivers won't. </p>
<p>Notice that I said he &quot;could be&quot; an asset in the red zone - Jones isn't the most natural pass catcher, and he needs to work on snatching the ball out of the air.&#160; You can see in his film that when the ball is above his shoulders, he struggles to catch the ball cleanly.&#160;&#160; … Jones also shows good speed, but he won't blow the lid off a defense. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Yes, this is basically the opposite of the previous report. Low sample size. That's two votes for a Breaston-like slasher, so we'll go with that.</p>
<p align="left">Jones's potentially fake 40 times do suggest <a href="http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/John-Glenn-WR-DaMario-Jones-in-the-mix-for-a-Michigan-offer-97503" target="_blank">he's a guy who has speed</a>…</p>
<blockquote><p>Jones has been clocked at a 10.9 in the 100, and ran a 4.47 in the 40 at Michigan State’s camp and a 4.50 at Ohio State’s camp.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>…and I lend those a little credence since he <a href="http://www.nationalunderclassmen.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=23100&amp;ATCLID=204977726" target="_blank">ran a 4.61 as a rising sophomore</a> at the National Underclassmen Combine, which was the fourth-best time at a very large event.</p>
<p align="left"><strong>How about some intangible bits to make you feel better?</strong> Jones did have a number of other schools sniffing around. Early they were <a href="http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/John-Glenn-WR-DaMario-Jones-in-the-mix-for-a-Michigan-offer-97503" target="_blank">mostly middleweights</a>…</p>
<blockquote><p align="left">The 6-2, 195-pounder out of Westland (Mich.) John Glenn verbally committed to Central Michigan back in July, but is seeing more and more interest from BCS schools on a daily basis. Schools such as Michigan, Iowa, Pitt, TCU, UCLA, Tennessee, Georgia Tech, Illinois and Indiana have all reached out, and it may be only a matter of time before some of them extend offers.</p>
</blockquote>
<p align="left">…but he <a href="http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/damario-jones-commitment-offers-more-hope-late-interestscholarship#comment-1905321" target="_blank">got a flurry of interest</a> right before signing day, reportedly landing offers from UCLA, MSU, and Georgia(!) and entertaining interest from FSU(!) and Alabama(?!?). Due to the nature of recruiting these days—&quot;uncommitable&quot; offers and all that—it's impossible to judge just how interested any of these schools were, but Georgia plays things on the up and up. An actual offer from Richt is a positive marker. </p>
<p align="left">Jones also fits The Pattern. <a href="http://recruiting.scout.com/2/1232745.html" target="_blank">His coach</a>: </p>
<blockquote><p>&quot;You know, you hear these clichés all the time, but it is the absolute truth that he is an outstanding young man. After every game, he comes up and shakes the coaches hands, he's a great student, teachers like him. He's a great leader in our school. He does everything right.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is not quite an &quot;I'd let him date my daughter&quot; quote, but I assume that's because his coach only has sons.</p>
<p align="left"><strong>Etc.:</strong> <a href="http://insider.espn.go.com/colleges/michigan/football/recruiting/story/_/id/8631861/damario-jones-eager-join-michigan-wolverines" target="_blank">Played Pop Warner</a> with Charlton and Butt. Ohio State fans <a href="http://www.elevenwarriors.com/buckshot/2012/11/brady-hoke-is-flipping-recruits" target="_blank">LOLing at his flip</a> are so cute. <a href="http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1419363" target="_blank">Jones on Jones</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p align="left">&quot;I'm a versatile receiver, and I'm not just the speedster guy,&quot; he said. &quot;I like to be physical, I get off the line, I get off the press. I try to run clean, crisp routes, and make sure the defenders can't guard me. Once I run my route, I figure I have good enough speed to catch the ball and take it to the next level.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>Why a poor man's Steve Breaston?</strong> A wiry guy around 6'1&quot;, Breaston was a high school quarterback who went to work but needed time to add weight and learn the position. Once he did that he was an excellent slot option, though he never mastered the ability to make a downfield catch until he hit the NFL.</p>
<p>Jones has a similar high-cut build and long-striding running style, has similar issues with inexperience since his team barely threw, and promises to be a quick-ish slot option. He is not Steve Breaston, though. Breaston was a top 100 player; Jones a generic three-star.</p>
<p><strong>Guru Reliability:</strong> Low. There is very little information on him for a lot of reasons.</p>
<p><strong>Variance:</strong> High. Bust potential is obvious, but late offers hint at great promise.</p>
<p><strong>Ceiling:</strong> Moderate. Sounds like he will top out as a nice #2 or #3 option.</p>
<p><strong>General Excitement Level:</strong> Moderate-minus. Has some upside, but has a long way to go and could get lost in the shuffle.</p>
<p><strong>Projection:</strong> One of the three receivers this year will play. Who will be determined by fall camp. Jones seems to be the internet's tentative favorite, but the other two guys likely bring more blocking. </p>
<p>Down the road, receiving opportunities open up next year with the departure of Gallon, Dileo, and Jackson. The competition steps up significantly with the addition of Drake Harris and Moe Ways, however, and Jones is going to have to find himself a role as a slot receiver or get sparing snaps since it seems like Michigan hit on both of last year's recruits. Meanwhile, the role of the slot receiver in an Al Borges offense with a fully-stocked hybrid TE mini-fridge is unknown.</p>
<p>Jones looks like he'll have maybe a dozen catches a year unless one of Darboh and or Chesson doesn't work out, in which case he'll have an earlier opportunity to establish himself a starter. Third and fourth receiving options are all over the place—see the last three guys profiled plus Funchess, etc. I expect a long apprenticeship.</p>
<a name="more"></a>http://mgoblog.com/content/2013-recruiting-damario-jones#comments2013 recruiting profilesda'mario jonesMon, 29 Jul 2013 15:18:33 +0000Brian80119 at http://mgoblog.comHokepoints: Predicting the Numbers 134http://mgoblog.com/content/hokepoints-predicting-numbers-134
<p><img title="IMG_2347" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="IMG_2347" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/IMG_2347.jpg" width="564" height="377" /></p>
<p align="center"><em><font size="2">hi bennie! /Upchurch</font></em></p>
<p align="left">It's an annual rite of fan dorkiness each year to try to be the first to guess which numbers the incoming freshmen will be given by obsessively google stalking them. Sometimes I have some inside knowledge from a recruit who was promised his digit, or tweeted his preferences or something. Here's <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/michigan-musenesday-plays-predicting-freshman-numbers-game" target="_blank">how I did last year</a>:</p>
<div align="center">
<table class="tableizer-table" align="center">
<tbody>
<tr class="tableizer-firstrow">
<th>Name</th>
<th>Pos.</th>
<th># in HS</th>
<th>2012 Guess</th>
<th>Actual</th>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>A.J. Williams</td>
<td>TE</td>
<td>88</td>
<td>88</td>
<td>84</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>Allen Gant</td>
<td>S</td>
<td>7 and 14</td>
<td>14</td>
<td>12</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>Amara Darboh</td>
<td>WR</td>
<td>15</td>
<td>15</td>
<td>82</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>Ben Braden</td>
<td>OL</td>
<td>51</td>
<td>51</td>
<td>71</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>Blake Bars</td>
<td>OL</td>
<td>67</td>
<td>72</td>
<td>62</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>Chris Wormley</td>
<td>DE</td>
<td>47</td>
<td>84 or 68</td>
<td>43</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>Dennis Norfleet</td>
<td>RB/KR</td>
<td>21</td>
<td>21 if available, or 31</td>
<td>26</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>Devin Funchess</td>
<td>TE</td>
<td>5 and 15</td>
<td>85</td>
<td>19</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>Drake Johnson</td>
<td>RB</td>
<td>2 and 18</td>
<td>32 or 6 or 23</td>
<td>29</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td><strong>Erik Magnuson</strong></td>
<td><strong>OL</strong></td>
<td><strong>77</strong></td>
<td><strong>78</strong></td>
<td><strong>78</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>James Ross</td>
<td>LB</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>36</td>
<td>15</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>Jehu Chesson</td>
<td>WR</td>
<td>5</td>
<td>82</td>
<td>86</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>Jeremy Clark</td>
<td>S</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>29</td>
<td>34</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td><strong>Kyle Kalis</strong></td>
<td><strong>OL</strong></td>
<td><strong>67</strong></td>
<td><strong>67</strong></td>
<td><strong>67</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td><strong>Mario Ojemudia</strong></td>
<td><strong>DE</strong></td>
<td><strong>53</strong></td>
<td><strong>53</strong></td>
<td><strong>53</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>Matthew Godin</td>
<td>DT</td>
<td>62</td>
<td>62</td>
<td>99</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td><strong>Ondre Pipkins</strong></td>
<td><strong>NT</strong></td>
<td><strong>71</strong></td>
<td><strong>56</strong></td>
<td><strong>56</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>Royce Jenkins-Stone</td>
<td>LB</td>
<td>10</td>
<td>10</td>
<td>52</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>Sione Houma</td>
<td>FB</td>
<td>35</td>
<td>41 or 32</td>
<td>39</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>Terry Richardson</td>
<td>CB</td>
<td>3 and 6 and 9</td>
<td>9</td>
<td>13</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>Tom Strobel</td>
<td>DE</td>
<td>36</td>
<td>63 or 93 or 86</td>
<td>50</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>Willie Henry</td>
<td>DT</td>
<td>74</td>
<td>74 or 68</td>
<td>69</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
<p>Four out of 22 ain't…well yes it is. It was bad. This article is useless. Let's continue it anyway; I swear to do better.</p>
<p><strong>Getting to know you. </strong>Each coach has his own tendencies with this so we'll get better at it in time. With Hoke, he seems to like having consecutive numbers in the same position group, perhaps for mentoring purposes because they sit next to each other in the locker room. It's far from a rule, but it's a trend. Carr rarely let a player share a specialist's digit, but Hoke doesn't seem to have a problem with it, for example Wormley and Hagerup share a number, and walk-on tight end Alex Mitropoulus-Rundus (I'm gonna just start calling him &quot;Alex M-R&quot;) has the same digit as backup punter Kenny Allen. Rich Rodriguez was far more apt to share numbers, and the single digits were nearly always doubled up; Hoke has said in the past that he doesn't like doing that, and the practice has been limited—as of spring just 5, 12 and 34 had scholarship recruits in both numbers, adding 54 and 56 to those double-occupied by players on the two-deep.</p>
<p><strong>The roster lies. </strong>The official <a href="http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/mich-m-footbl-mtt.html" target="_blank">MGoBlue.com roster</a> still doesn't have DeAnthony Hardison, that nifty RB you saw in the Spring Game. He's #18. Also a practice insider told me Anthony Capatina is playing slot receiver, not &quot;DB&quot; as he's listed on the depth chart. Also weirdly missing from that roster is #79 right tackle Dan Gibbs (a Seaholm Mape!!!), a 2012 preferred walk-on whose twitter profile pic is him riding an oliphant:</p>
<p><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/DWVAFy5.jpg"><img title="DWVAFy5" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="DWVAFy5" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/DWVAFy5_thumb.jpg" width="344" height="344" /></a></p>
<p align="center"><em><a href="https://twitter.com/DJBunyan" target="_blank"><font size="2">@DJBunyan</font></a></em></p>
<p><strong>Legends/Special #s: </strong>1 because Braylon's scholarship killed the fun, unless Gallon gets it. It won't come as much of a surprise to you that 2 will probably be entering the Legends program this season. There will also be some push for 16, and I doubt it'll be assigned to an offensive player immediately. 11 for the Wisterts, 21 for Desmond, and 87 for Ron Kramer are currently open; it is likely they'll be assigned to veterans whose digits might then be made available if it happens before the season. Bennie's 47 and Jerry's 48 remain occupied by current players and there's no way a second guy will get them. And I've been told they're still working on the Harmon family with 98. Anyway they won't go to freshmen.</p>
<p><strong>Already worn on both sides: </strong>5 (Courtney Avery and Justice Hayes), 6 (Raymon Taylor and Brian Cleary), 12 (Gardner and Allen Gant), 13 (Terry Richardson and Alex Swieca), 15 (James Ross and Shaun Austin), 34 (Jeremy Clark and Brendan Gibbons), 43 (Chris Wormley and Will Hagerup), 54 (Richard Ash and Jareth Glanda), 56 (Ondre Pipkins and Joey Burzynski), 69 (Willie Henry and Erik Gunderson), and 95 (Anthony Capatina and Michael Jocz).</p>
<p><strong>Available on offense only: </strong>4, 7, 14, 18, 22, 24, 25, 30, 33, 35, 40, 50, 52, 53, 55, 57, 59, 66, 76, 92, 96, 97, 99</p>
<p><strong>Available on defense only: </strong>3, 8, 9, 10, 17, 19, 26, 27, 28, 29, 38, 39, 42, 45, 46, 49, 51, 58, 60, 61, 62, 63, 65, 67, 70, 71, 72, 75, 77, 78, 82, 84, 85, 86, 88, 94</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/1146879.jpg"><img title="1146879" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 5px 0px 5px 10px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="1146879" align="right" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/1146879_thumb.jpg" width="204" height="154" /></a>Walk-ons with soft claims:</strong> Every year there's a Jon Keizer on the roster who thinks his number is safe, then some top running back recruit in the country <em>(right: from Scout)</em> runs him over with star power (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFljthixeCA" rel="lightvideo">dadada, didda-da diddadidda</a>…). Scout teamers without scholarships often have their numbers taken, for example Charlie Zeller was 19 on the 2012 spring roster and Paul Gyarmati was sitting on 99, but Devin Funchess and Matt Godin nabbed those digits last fall. This year they are<strong> </strong>15 (Shaun Austin—note that Ross has it on D), 18 (DeAnthony Hardison—note that Countess has it on D), <strong>27</strong> (Jon Keizer), 36 (AJ Pearson—note that Kerridge has it on O), <strong>42</strong> (Dylan Esterline), <strong>46</strong> (Clark Grace), <strong>49</strong> (Brad Anlauf), <strong>51</strong> (Bobby Henderson), <strong>59</strong> (Mark Lawson), <strong>63</strong> (Ben Pliska), <strong>66</strong> (Dan Liesman), <strong>70</strong> (Kris Mateus), <strong>79 </strong>(Dan Gibbs), (91 (Alex M-R, though Kenny Allen wears it too), and 95 (Anthony Capatina and Mike Jocz). The other walk-ons I didn't mention (Dever, Cleary, Glanda, Burzynski, Reynolds, Allen, Gunderson, Jocz and the Glasgows) are either on the two-deep already or in the mix.</p>
<p><strong>Currently unused: </strong>20, 23, 31, 32, 37, 41, 44, 64, 68, 73, 74, 80, 81, 83, 89, 90, 93, π</p>
<p><strong>You just said Pi. </strong>We're Michigan fergodsakes. All the constants—φ, ζ(3), α and δ, Euler's <em>e</em>, γ, λ, <em>K</em>, r, and Ω—ought to be fair game, and if someone takes √-1 and uses the nickname &quot;Impossible&quot; he will be my favorite for ever and ever.</p>
<p><strong>EVERYBODY LET'S ALL BE #7!!!</strong></p>
<table class="tableizer-table">
<tbody>
<tr class="tableizer-firstrow">
<th width="188">Name</th>
<th width="10">Pos.</th>
<th width="66">HS #</th>
<th width="418">Tea Leaves</th>
<th width="232">Best Guess</th>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td width="188">David Dawson</td>
<td width="10">OG</td>
<td width="66">71</td>
<td width="418">Wore 55 in Under Armour game, 33 in Army AA game. </td>
<td width="232">55* - His <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidDawson_" target="_blank">Twitter acct</a> is David Dawson 5⃣5⃣</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td width="188">Reon Dawson</td>
<td width="10">BCB</td>
<td width="66">1</td>
<td width="418">Wore 13, 24 and 1 in high school.</td>
<td width="232">31 - seems to fit.</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td width="188">Jaron Dukes</td>
<td width="10">WR</td>
<td width="66">8</td>
<td width="418">Twitter handle is @Jaron_Dukes8</td>
<td width="232">83* <strike>80 - Is 8-like.</strike></td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td width="188">Chris Fox</td>
<td width="10">OL</td>
<td width="66">73</td>
<td width="418">Wore #13 (?) at Army AA game and #33 at Rivals 5-star challenge</td>
<td width="232">73* - Guy likes #3</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td width="188">Greg Froelich</td>
<td width="10">OG</td>
<td width="66">77</td>
<td width="418">Wore that and 75 in high school (preferred walk-on)</td>
<td width="232">76 - Not exactly Steve Hutchinson.</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td width="188">Ben Gedeon</td>
<td width="10">MLB</td>
<td width="66">15</td>
<td width="418">James Ross is already James Ross.</td>
<td width="232">45 - David Harris's # but precludes punt coverage.</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td width="188">Derrick Green</td>
<td width="10">RB</td>
<td width="66">27</td>
<td width="418">Wore 27 in Army AA game.</td>
<td width="232">27* - <a href="http://recruiting.scout.com/PictureGallery.aspx?PlayerId=156305&amp;Title=Derrick+Green" target="_blank">call it a hunch</a>. Sorry Keizer.</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td width="188">Delano Hill</td>
<td width="10">Nk/FS</td>
<td width="66">11</td>
<td width="418">Looks like he's 40.</td>
<td width="232">32 (Kovacs's other #) or 23</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td width="188">Khalid Hill</td>
<td width="10">FB/TE</td>
<td width="66">32</td>
<td width="418">Very Kevin Dudley of him.</td>
<td width="232">32 or 23</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td width="188">Maurice Hurst</td>
<td width="10">NT</td>
<td width="66">50</td>
<td width="418">Wore #11 in Semper Fi Bowl.</td>
<td width="232">68 - Mike Martin's #</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td width="188">Da'Mario Jones</td>
<td width="10">WR</td>
<td width="66">11</td>
<td width="418">Wore #7 <a href="https://si0.twimg.com/profile_images/3185915381/561a36be1d0be86f4fb705b8e24545a8.jpeg" target="_blank">in that photo of recruits</a> in white M jerseys. #15 at MSU camp. Same school as Tony Boles, who wore 42 at Michigan but had 18 touchdowns so...</td>
<td width="232">14* <strike>18 - I admit this is thin</strike>.</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td width="188">Patrick Kugler</td>
<td width="10">OC</td>
<td width="66">57</td>
<td width="418">Wore 57 at UA game. Dad and bro wore 57.</td>
<td width="232">57 - O'KUGLER RULES!</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td width="188">Jourdan Lewis</td>
<td width="10">CB</td>
<td width="66">1</td>
<td width="418">Also wore #17 at Cass Tech, #27 at Army AA game.</td>
<td width="232">17 or 3 or 37.</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td width="188">Mike McCray</td>
<td width="10">SAM</td>
<td width="66">9</td>
<td width="418">Wore #9 at UA game. Father wore 99 at OSU</td>
<td width="232">9* - He and Dileo both likely to be on special teams, but not the same groups.</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td width="188">J.J. McGrath</td>
<td width="10">K</td>
<td width="66">13</td>
<td width="418">preferred walk-on</td>
<td width="232">35 - Or some kicker number.</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td width="188">Shane Morris</td>
<td width="10">QB</td>
<td width="66">12</td>
<td width="418">Gardner switched, so...</td>
<td width="232">7 - he already tweeted it.</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td width="188">Henry Poggi</td>
<td width="10">3T</td>
<td width="66">7</td>
<td width="418">Wore 17 at UA game. Was given <a href="https://twitter.com/ShaneMorris_7/status/335139249600987136/photo/1" target="_blank">#7 locker </a>in May. Plays jazz flute.</td>
<td width="232">70 - Ross Douglass already took 7.</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td width="188">Dan Samuelson</td>
<td width="10">OG</td>
<td width="66">74</td>
<td width="418">Photo out there of him wearing a Nebraska 74 jersey. Twitter handle is @dansamuelson74.</td>
<td width="232">74 - it's available.</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td width="188">Wyatt Shallman</td>
<td width="10">FB</td>
<td width="66">49</td>
<td width="418">49 is available on defense.</td>
<td width="232">33* for <a href="https://twitter.com/WyattShallman/status/331824387667939328/photo/1">his DCC teammate who passed away</a>. <strike>49 - Sorry Brad Anlauf</strike>.</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td width="188">Deveon Smith</td>
<td width="10">RB</td>
<td width="66">4</td>
<td width="418">Is a 4-star?</td>
<td width="232">4 - It's open.</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td width="188">Blaise Stearns</td>
<td width="10">WR</td>
<td width="66">1</td>
<td width="418">Townie: Can't find what he wore at Huron before transferred. Preferred walk-on</td>
<td width="232">89 - Doesn't exactly get 1st pick.</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td width="188">Channing Stribling</td>
<td width="10">FS</td>
<td width="66">8</td>
<td width="418">#22 commit to the class.</td>
<td width="232">8* - It's open</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td width="188">Scott Sypniewski</td>
<td width="10">LS</td>
<td width="66">56</td>
<td width="418">Wore #45 at his long-snapper camp.</td>
<td width="232">41 - Who cares.</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td width="188">Jack Wangler</td>
<td width="10">WR</td>
<td width="66">21</td>
<td width="418">Dad wore #5 at Mich (preferred walk-on)</td>
<td width="232">16* <strike>25 - Like Kennedy</strike>.</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td width="188">Csont'e York</td>
<td width="10">WR</td>
<td width="66">1</td>
<td width="418">Was #667 at NFTC</td>
<td width="232">81 - With an eye toward dropping the 8.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Go ahead and make your guesses. We'll have our answers in a few weeks.</p>
<p>* <strong>UPDATE:</strong> After I posted this Magnus alerted me to his <a href="http://touchthebanner.blogspot.com/2013/05/class-of-2013-freshman-jersey-numbers.html">post of numbers that have already been revealed</a>. I had some good guesses. I crossed out my comments if the guess was wrong.</p>
<a name="more"></a>http://mgoblog.com/content/hokepoints-predicting-numbers-134#comments100% hot nerd action2013 recruitingben gedeonblaise-stearnschanning striblingchris foxcsont'e yorkda'mario jonesdan samuelsondavid dawsondeanthony hardison is the mystery wolverinedelano hillderrick greendeveon smithgreg froelichhenry poggihokepointsjack wanglerjaron dukesjj mcgrathjourdan lewiskhalid hillmaurice hurstmike mccraypatrick kuglerreon dawsonroster overanalysisrosteringscott sypniewskishane morriswyatt shallmanTue, 04 Jun 2013 15:04:04 +0000Seth79062 at http://mgoblog.com2013 Recruiting Wrap: The Offensehttp://mgoblog.com/content/2013-recruiting-wrap-offense
<p class="rtecenter"><img alt="" rel="lightbox" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8437/7880885802_1880fcc6fa_o.jpg" style="height: 435px; width: 540px;" /><br />
<em>Eric Upchurch/MGoBlog</em></p>
<p>It is Signing Day 2013, and if you weren&#39;t aware, Michigan has a pretty, pretty good class. With this post&mdash;and its accompanying defense post (coming tomorrow)&mdash;I&#39;ll attempt to give you a solid overview of the class, its strengths and weaknesses, and hand out a few superlatives. Let&#39;s start with a look at the offensive class as a whole and their final rankings from the recruiting services&mdash;click on each player&#39;s name to see their commitment post:</p>
<table class="tableizer-table">
<tbody>
<tr class="tableizer-firstrow">
<th>
Name</th>
<th>
Position</th>
<th>
State</th>
<th>
Rivals</th>
<th>
Scout</th>
<th>
24/7</th>
<th>
ESPN</th>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>
<a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/hello-future-shane-morris">Shane Morris</a></td>
<td>
QB</td>
<td>
MI</td>
<td>
4</td>
<td>
5</td>
<td>
4</td>
<td>
4</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>
<a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/hello-derrick-green">Derrick Green</a></td>
<td>
RB</td>
<td>
VA</td>
<td>
5</td>
<td>
5</td>
<td>
4</td>
<td>
4</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>
<a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/hello-deveon-smith-0">DeVeon Smith</a></td>
<td>
RB</td>
<td>
OH</td>
<td>
3</td>
<td>
4</td>
<td>
4</td>
<td>
4</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>
<a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/hello-wyatt-shallman">Wyatt Shallman</a></td>
<td>
ATH/RB</td>
<td>
MI</td>
<td>
4</td>
<td>
4</td>
<td>
4</td>
<td>
3</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>
<a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/hello-jaron-dukes">Jaron Dukes</a></td>
<td>
WR</td>
<td>
OH</td>
<td>
3</td>
<td>
3</td>
<td>
3</td>
<td>
4</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>
<a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/hello-damario-jones">Da&#39;Mario Jones</a></td>
<td>
WR</td>
<td>
MI</td>
<td>
3</td>
<td>
3</td>
<td>
3</td>
<td>
3</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>
<a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/hello-csonte-york">Csont&#39;e York</a></td>
<td>
WR</td>
<td>
MI</td>
<td>
3</td>
<td>
3</td>
<td>
3</td>
<td>
3</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>
<a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/hello-patrick-kugler">Patrick Kugler</a></td>
<td>
OL</td>
<td>
PA</td>
<td>
4</td>
<td>
5</td>
<td>
4</td>
<td>
4</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>
<a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/hello-kyle-bosch">Kyle Bosch</a>*</td>
<td>
OL</td>
<td>
IL</td>
<td>
4</td>
<td>
4</td>
<td>
4</td>
<td>
4</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>
<a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/hello-david-dawson">David Dawson</a></td>
<td>
OL</td>
<td>
MI</td>
<td>
4</td>
<td>
4</td>
<td>
4</td>
<td>
4</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>
<a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/hello-chris-fox">Chris Fox</a></td>
<td>
OL</td>
<td>
CO</td>
<td>
4</td>
<td>
4</td>
<td>
4</td>
<td>
4</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>
<a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/hello-logan-tuley-tillman">Logan Tuley-Tillman</a>*</td>
<td>
OL</td>
<td>
IL</td>
<td>
4</td>
<td>
4</td>
<td>
4</td>
<td>
4</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>
<a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/hello-dan-samuelson">Dan Samuelson</a></td>
<td>
OL</td>
<td>
IN</td>
<td>
3</td>
<td>
4</td>
<td>
3</td>
<td>
3</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>
<a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/hello-jake-butt-0">Jake Butt</a>*</td>
<td>
TE</td>
<td>
OH</td>
<td>
4</td>
<td>
4</td>
<td>
3</td>
<td>
4</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>
<a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/hello-khalid-hill">Khalid Hill</a></td>
<td>
TE</td>
<td>
MI</td>
<td>
3</td>
<td>
3</td>
<td>
3</td>
<td>
3</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><em>*Early enrollee</em></p>
<p>And now, some specifics:</p>
<p><strong>BEST POSITION GROUP:&nbsp;Offensive Line.</strong></p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img alt="" rel="lightbox" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7190/6897320285_e6b732b1c4.jpg" /><br />
<em>Kyle Bosch</em></p>
<p>This offensive line class is arguably the best in the country, finding strength both in numbers (six) and quality (five of the six are consensus four-stars or above and made All-American teams). As Michigan continues to fill in the holes left by some disastrous offensive line recruiting under Rich Rodriguez, this couldn&#39;t have come at a better time.</p>
<p>Among the group, guard Kyle Bosch is the most likely to crack the two-deep early; he&#39;s on campus early and has college-ready size&mdash;Michigan lists him at 6&#39;5&quot;, 311 lbs.&mdash;to go with a polished set of skills. He won&#39;t start right away (let&#39;s hope) but could factor in as a backup. Center Patrick Kugler&mdash;the son of longtime NFL OL coach and current UTEP head coach Sean Kugler&mdash;might be the best of the bunch, though. He&#39;ll hit campus as the most physically gifted Wolverine at the position, and while he shouldn&#39;t be forced to play right away, he should be a multi-year starter down the road.</p>
<p>Honorable Mention: Running Back, Quarterback.</p>
<p><strong>BIGGEST WEAKNESS: No elite receiver</strong></p>
<p>Yes, this class lacks a blue-chip wideout. Csont&#39;e York and Jaron Dukes are both big targets who can go up and get the ball, while Da&#39;Mario Jones could be a playmaker in the slot, but none are can&#39;t-miss prospects. This issue is mitigated somewhat by Michigan&#39;s strong recruiting at tight end&mdash;get a couple playmakers there and the pressure comes off the receivers in the passing game&mdash;but you&#39;d still like to see a top-flight guy on the outside.</p>
<p>Honorable Mention: The only other issue with the offensive side of the class is the lack of a second quarterback for depth purposes, something the coaches decided wasn&#39;t necessary. Otherwise, every need was filled.</p>
<p><strong>MOST LIKELY TO START FROM DAY ONE: Derrick Green</strong></p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img alt="" rel="lightbox" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8028/7668892582_7b71c91efe_o.jpg" style="height: 472px; width: 500px;" /></p>
<p>Not only is Green the top-ranked recruit in the class, but he comes in at a position of great uncertainty and, as of late, middling production. He&#39;s got the body of an NFL running back as a high school senior and is a perfect fit for Al Borges&#39;s ideal offense. It&#39;s unknown whether Fitz Toussaint will be ready to start the season after his ugly leg injury and his production was lacking in 2012 anyway; Thomas Rawls failed to impress in his stead. Green&#39;s toughest competition for the bulk of the carries may even come from fellow 2013 commit DeVeon Smith, arguably the best back in the state of Ohio. Either way, expect a freshman (or two) to make a big impact in the backfield next season.</p>
<p>Honorable Mention: DeVeon Smith, Jake Butt</p>
<p><strong>SUREST THING: Patrick Kugler</strong></p>
<p class="rtecenter"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qUKqT1vHE4U?rel=0" width="420"></iframe></p>
<p>Covered in part above, Kugler is as close as you&#39;ll get to a can&#39;t-miss offensive line recruit. At 6&#39;5&quot;, 280 lbs. before setting foot on campus, he&#39;s got better size than any Michigan center of recent vintage. His father spent nine years coaching offensive line in the NFL, and Patrick&#39;s film makes it apparent that he&#39;s absorbed a lot of his father&#39;s teaching&mdash;from a technical standpoint, he&#39;s very advanced for his age. He participated in the Under Armour AA Game and held up very well against some of the best defensive linemen in the country.</p>
<p>Kugler&#39;s only competition at center right now is Jack Miller, who&#39;s been groomed to take over the position for a couple years but was too undersized to see the field as a redshirt freshman in 2012. Miller should step in and start in 2013&mdash;it&#39;s unrealistic to expect Kugler to have enough command of the offense to make the O-line calls after a few weeks on campus&mdash;but it&#39;s going to be hard to keep Kugler off the field in 2014 and beyond.</p>
<p>Honorable Mention: Derrick Green, Kyle Bosch</p>
<p><strong>BOOM OR BUST: Logan Tuley-Tillman</strong></p>
<p>Offensive lineman Logan Tuley-Tillman has the prototypical left tackle frame at 6&#39;7&quot;, 307 pounds. He&#39;s also a relative newcomer to the game of football and spent his high school days overpowering opponents with sheer size and strength&mdash;as a result, he&#39;s got a long way to go from a technical standpoint. At last summer&#39;s Sound Mind Sound Body camp, Tuley-Tillman and David Dawson both got extensive work in with Michigan OL coach Darrell Funk&mdash;Funk used Dawson as an example for how to execute certain technical aspects of line play, then spent a good deal of time trying to get Tuley-Tillman to that level.</p>
<p>If Tuley-Tillman can put it all together, he&#39;s the future at left tackle and could even develop into an NFL prospect. With so much ground to cover, however, he could also get buried on the depth chart by more polished players. It should help that Tuley-Tillman is already on campus&mdash;with a redshirt year all but guaranteed, he&#39;ll have plenty of time to work on the fundamentals before worrying about seeing the field.</p>
<p>Honorable Mention: Shane Morris, Chris Fox</p>
<p><strong>MGOSCOUTED STAMP OF APPROVAL: Jake Butt</strong></p>
<p class="rtecenter">
<object height="304" width="540"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/IxLRHT3hXqc?hl=en_US&amp;version=3&amp;rel=0&amp;start=88" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="304" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/IxLRHT3hXqc?hl=en_US&amp;version=3&amp;rel=0&amp;start=88" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="540"></embed></object></p>
<p>Among the players I checked out last fall&mdash;on offense: Morris, Shallman, York, Dawson, Butt, and Hill&mdash;tight end Jake Butt really stood out with his performance on the field. Playing against cross-town rival Pickerington Central&mdash;featuring fellow Wolverine Taco Charlton&mdash;he <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/future-blue-originals-pickerington-central-vs-pickerington-north">hauled in nine catches for 93 yards and a TD</a> while also making an impact at defensive end. Some of my impressions from that game:</p>
<blockquote><p>Butt did a great job of snatching the ball away from his body and caught everything thrown his way. While he could be a little sharper out of his breaks, he runs crisp routes and positions his body well to give his quarterback a big target while warding off the defender. He was able to find space up the seam on multiple occasions but was also comfortable working on the perimeter, at one point catching back-to-back out routes when Central cheated to the inside in coverage. He&#39;s not going to juke past too many defenders after the catch, but he usually finds a way to fall forward for extra yardage.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>At 6&#39;6&quot;, 235 lbs., Butt has an ideal frame for the position, and his blocking really impressed me as well. He&#39;s another early enrollee, and I&#39;d be surprised if he took a redshirt&mdash;he may not start from day one, but he&#39;s a better blocker than Devin Funchess and could give Michigan a scary one-two combo at tight end/H-back.</p>
<p>Honorable Mention: David Dawson, Shane Morris</p>
<p><strong>THE SHANE MORRIS CATEGORY: Shane Morris</strong></p>
<p>An overview of Michigan&#39;s 2013 class is incomplete without mentioning the team&#39;s quarterback of the future. Morris dropped from five-star status on Rivals and 247 after a senior season marred by mono and an uneven performance at the Under Armour AA Game, but he still has the highest ceiling of any of Michigan&#39;s commits.</p>
<p>The first thing that stands out about Morris is his arm strength&mdash;the ball explodes out of his hand with seemingly little effort. When he&#39;s on, it&#39;s a sight to behold. The problem&mdash;and ultimately why he dropped in the rankings&mdash;is that he&#39;s yet to show consistency; he still needs work reading defenses and relies too heavily on his arm strength to fit the ball into windows that sometimes aren&#39;t there.</p>
<p>Those expecting Morris to come in and take the starting job need to temper their expectations severely&mdash;the job is Devin Gardner&#39;s, and barring injury it&#39;ll stay that way. Morris could very well come in and earn the backup job over Russell Bellomy, however, and with a couple years of development he could be special.</p>
<p>Honorable Mention: Shane Morris</p>
<p><strong>SLEEPER: Da&#39;Mario Jones</strong></p>
<p class="rtecenter"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/OloOBhd5Dqs?rel=0" width="420"></iframe></p>
<p>Michigan snatched WR Da&#39;Mario Jones, a Westland John Glenn product, away from Central Michigan, so he certainly flew under the radar for the bulk of the recruiting cycle. That may have been the product of playing in a league that doesn&#39;t get much exposure, however&mdash;<a href="http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=162&amp;f=1088&amp;t=11232553&amp;p=1&amp;pin=11232553" target="_blank">Allen Trieu reported</a>($) that UCLA, Alabama, Florida State, Michigan State, and Georgia all came to see him last week, though no offers came when he made it clear he was ticketed for Ann Arbor.</p>
<p>While the other two receivers in the class, Csont&#39;e York and Jaron Dukes, are big guys who were on the receiving end of a lot of jump balls in high school, Jones is a guy who&#39;s shown his ability to work underneath and break big plays after the catch. With Drew Dileo and Jeremy Gallon back in 2013, he may not see the field right away, but down the road there&#39;s a clear role he can fill in the slot&mdash;a position that, granted, may be marginalized by the increased emphasis on tight ends&mdash;and nobody else on the roster who fits that mold after next season.</p>
<p>Honorable Mention: Wyatt Shallman, Khalid Hill</p>
<a name="more"></a>http://mgoblog.com/content/2013-recruiting-wrap-offense#comments2013 recruitingchris foxcsont'e yorkda'mario jonesdan samuelsondavid dawsonderrick greendeveon smithjake buttjaron dukeskhalid hillkyle boschlogan tuley-tillmanpatrick kuglershane morriswyatt shallmanWed, 06 Feb 2013 21:16:58 +0000Ace75957 at http://mgoblog.comThursday Recruitin' Pushes The Pilehttp://mgoblog.com/content/thursday-recruitin-pushes-pile
<p><em>Today&#39;s recruiting roundup covers new offers in both the &#39;13 and &#39;14 classes, the updated Rivals rankings, and more.</em></p>
<h3>
Found: Goal Line Back, Destroyer Of Worlds</h3>
<p>If you like to watch enormous people destroy things, you&#39;ll very much enjoy <strong>Maurice Hurst Jr.</strong>&#39;s senior highlight tape:</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="304" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/fb4cyn8FKRA?rel=0" width="540"></iframe></p>
<p>About the only thing that&#39;s missing is him beating a block in a fashion other than bull rush. When your bull rush works like this, though, there&#39;s not much reason to switch things up at the high school level:</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img alt="" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8481/8249235175_6853061f63_o.gif" style="width: 500px; height: 282px;" /><br />
<em>When you&#39;re done marveling at MASS DESTRUCTION, check out the &quot;block&quot; by the fullback</em></p>
<p>Also, if Hurst is never used as a goal-line back at Michigan, I&#39;ll be a very sad panda.</p>
<p>247 <a href="http://youtu.be/y81swcBhwLU" target="_blank">released senior highlights</a> of <strong>Jake Butt</strong> this week, as well&mdash;he did impressive work on offense this season, lining up both as a traditional tight end and split out wide.</p>
<p><strong><em>[Hit THE JUMP for a roundup of Michigan&#39;s latest offers, the updated 2013 Rivals rankings, and more.]</em></strong></p>
<a name="more"></a><!--break--><!--break--><h3>
Let The Pillaging Commence</h3>
<p>Brady Hoke certainly isn&#39;t afraid to raid other school&#39;s classes in an effort to bolster his own; he&#39;s already flipped <strong>Ross Douglas</strong> (Penn State) and <strong>Da&#39;Mario Jones</strong> (Central Michigan) in the 2013 class, is currently pursuing linemen <strong>Kenny Lacy</strong> (UCLA commit) and <strong>Cameron Hunt</strong> (Cal commit), and now his latest 2013 offers are out to prospects committed to other Big Ten schools.</p>
<p><a href="http://michigan.scout.com/2/1246169.html" target="_blank">Scout&#39;s Bill Greene reports</a>($) that the Wolverines offered OH CB <strong>Reon Dawson</strong>, an Illinois commit and Trotwood-Madison teammate of Mike McCray. Dawson says he&#39;s sticking with the Illini for now, but is considering a visit to Ann Arbor.</p>
<p>Michigan also offered Cass Tech OL <strong>Dennis Finley</strong>, a Michigan State commit, per multiple outlets. Finley told 247&#39;s Sean Scherer that &quot;I&#39;m a Spartan and I&#39;m sticking with my commitment,&quot; so it <a href="http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/MSU-2013-OL-Commit-Dennis-Finley-My-Mind-Is-Already-Set-104914" target="_blank">doesn&#39;t appear the offer will amount to anything</a> ($). It&#39;s unclear how the Finley offer relates to the status of Michigan&#39;s other O-line targets, but things still look good with <strong>David Dawson</strong> and <strong>Cameron Hunt</strong>.</p>
<p>Speaking of Dawson, he had to reschedule this weekend&#39;s planned visit to Ohio State because he&#39;s taking the ACT, <a href="https://twitter.com/TomVH/status/276497559885840384" target="_blank">per TomVH</a>. He&#39;ll be in Ann Arbor on December 14th, along with Hunt, and if he wants a spot in the Wolverine class it&#39;s quite possible he won&#39;t make it down to Columbus after all.</p>
<p>Another visit that won&#39;t happen: <strong>Leon McQuay III</strong>&#39;s <a href="https://twitter.com/Quaydiddy2206/status/276674443621842944" target="_blank">planned official to USC this weekend</a>. Lane Kiffin will have an in-home visit with the McQuays on Monday and it&#39;s possible he&#39;ll reschedule the visit. The resignation of defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, however, definitely hurts USC&#39;s chances to ultimately land him. It still appears that this is a race between Vanderbilt, Michigan, and Florida State.</p>
<p>In other Trojan-related news, four-star TX WR <strong>Eldridge Massington</strong> decommitted from USC after learning they wouldn&#39;t have the room to take him as an early enrollee, <a href="http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/colleges/michigan/post?id=8768" target="_blank">according to ESPN&#39;s Damon Sayles</a> ($). Massington tore his ACL in July and wants to enroll at a school in December in order to get the best possible rehab on his knee. He doesn&#39;t have any favorites or visits set up at this time; Michigan was heavily involved with him before his USC commitment and could find their way back into the picture.</p>
<h3>
2013 Rivals Rankings Updated</h3>
<p>After the Rivals100 was updated on Monday, the changes to the <a href="http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recruiting/rankings/rank-3054" target="_blank">full Rivals250</a> and beyond were revealed this week. Aside from Wyatt Shallman dropping out of the Rivals250 after previously being at #206, the changes for Michigan commits were relatively minor. <strong>Dymonte Thomas</strong> (#107), <strong>Chris Fox</strong> (#123), <strong>Jake Butt</strong> (#141), <strong>Jourdan Lewis</strong> (#147), <strong>Taco Charlton</strong> (#231), <strong>Ross Douglas</strong> (#238), and <strong>Logan Tuley-Tillman</strong> (#245) made the cut among Wolverine commits.</p>
<p>In further Rivals updates, <strong>Channing Stribling</strong> jumped from two stars to three, earning a 5.7 rating&mdash;he&#39;s ranked as the #28 safety in the country, just <a href="http://rivals.yahoo.com/Michigan/football/recruiting/rankings/rank-3083;_ylt=Au0hA5GoCUUbbYTh2s2sYvFpspB4" target="_blank">four spots away from the lowest four-star</a>. <strong>Da&#39;Mario Jones</strong> went from unranked to a three-star prospect (5.6 rating), though he didn&#39;t crack the list of ranked wide receivers.</p>
<p>ESPN <a href="http://espn.go.com/college-sports/recruiting/football/story/_/id/8718149/2013-armour-game-rosters" target="_blank">released the rosters</a> for the Under Armour All-American Game, which will take place on January 4th. All of Michigan&#39;s commits slated to play&mdash;<strong>Mike McCray</strong>, <strong>Shane Morris</strong>, <strong>Henry Poggi</strong>, <strong>Patrick Kugle</strong>r, and <strong>Logan Tuley-Tillman</strong>&mdash;were placed on the &quot;Nitro&quot; (white) team coached by former 49ers and Lions head coach Steve Mariucci. Other players on interest on the white squad include <strong>Laquon Treadwell</strong>, <strong>Gareon Conley</strong>, <strong>Ty Isaac</strong>, <strong>Na&#39;Ty Rodgers</strong>,<strong> David Dawson</strong>, and <strong>Cameron Hunt</strong>&mdash;the odds are pretty good that Michigan will have more than five commits on the team by the time the game rolls around.</p>
<h3>
Etc.</h3>
<p>Michigan offered 2014 CA RB <strong>Joe Mixon</strong> yesterday, <a href="http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/colleges/michigan/post?id=8814" target="_blank">according to TomVH</a> ($, info in header). Mixon stands at 6&#39;1&quot;, 191 pounds, and holds offers from Arizona State, Cal, Colorado, Oregon State, and Washington, as well as interest from Oregon.</p>
<p>2014 FL WR <strong>Corey Holmes</strong>, who&#39;s previously put Michigan at the top of his list, told 247&#39;s Todd Worly that he might <a href="http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/St-Thomas-Aquinas-WR-Corey-Holmes-impressed-with-Michigan-105062" target="_blank">drop by a bowl practice in Tampa before the Outback Bowl</a> ($). He&#39;s also planning another visit to Ann Arbor for the summer or fall next year; it looks like there&#39;s still serious interest from him.</p>
<p>2014 OL commit <strong>Denzel Ward</strong> picked up an offer from Ohio State yesterday, but quickly dispelled any concerns that he&#39;d waver on his Michigan commitment:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet tw-align-center"><p>Still an Michigan commit. Many opportunities will come but I believe I capitalized on the best situation for me.</p>
<p> &mdash; Denzel Ward (@Diezel75_) <a data-datetime="2012-12-05T21:38:59+00:00" href="https://twitter.com/Diezel75_/status/276440558031994880">December 5, 2012</a></p></blockquote>
<p>Finally, Michigan is starting to show interest in 2013 OH LB <strong>Rasheen Jones</strong>, a current Cincinnati commit, <a href="http://cincinnati.com/blogs/recruiting/2012/12/06/michigan-called-about-northwest-lb-rasheen-jones-uc-commit/" target="_blank">according to Cincinnati.com&#39;s Mike Dyer</a>. Jones is a three-star on all four recruiting sites. So far, it looks like the extent of his Michigan recruitment has been a phone call from one of the coaches to his high school coach, so it&#39;s unclear how strong the interest from the Wolverines is at the moment.</p>
http://mgoblog.com/content/thursday-recruitin-pushes-pile#comments2013 recruiting2014 recruitingchanning striblingcorey holmesda'mario jonesdavid dawsondennis finleydenzel wardeldridge massingtonjake buttjoe mixonmaurice hurst jr.rasheen jonesrecruiting roundupreon dawsonThu, 06 Dec 2012 16:37:05 +0000Ace74467 at http://mgoblog.comFriday Recruitin' Just Ponders For Nowhttp://mgoblog.com/content/friday-recruitin-just-ponders-now
<p><em>Today&#39;s recruiting roundup covers the latest on Gareon Conley, highlight videos of Derrick Green and Channing Stribling, a couple 2014 visits, and more.</em></p>
<h3>
Gone-ley? /Slaps Knee</h3>
<p class="rtecenter"><img alt="" rel="lightbox" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7061/6967532883_cc7db56ae5_o.jpg" /></p>
<p>It&#39;s been a week since <strong>Gareon Conley</strong> stated after a game that he intended to take visits, and as of this moment, at least, he&#39;s still a Michigan commit. 247&#39;s Bill Kurelic reports that may not last long at all, however, as Conley&#39;s step-mother says he&#39;ll &quot;definitely [take] his visits,&quot; with <a href="http://ohiostate.247sports.com/Article/Is-Gareon-Conley-Headed-To-Ohio-State-98668" target="_blank">plans to check out Ohio State and Oregon</a> ($):</p>
<blockquote><p>Angel [Conley] said her son is planning to make official visits to Ohio State and Oregon.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Ohio State will be an official visit in the next month or so,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Ohio State and Oregon will be official visits.&rdquo;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Nothing has been set up yet, at least, and Sam Webb <a href="http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=162&amp;f=1088&amp;t=10281072" target="_blank">noted on Scout&#39;s board</a>($) that Conley has spoken with the coaches and knows his spot in the class is at stake&mdash;Webb also said Conley is still pondering visits, of course. In my opinion, it&#39;s tough at this point to see a scenario in which he doesn&#39;t take a look around.</p>
<p>If there&#39;s good news for Michigan, it&#39;s that they have one of Conley&#39;s closest confidants in their corner: his father, <a href="http://michigan.scout.com/2/1235148.html#.UJCGE0rbIXw.twitter" target="_blank">per Scout&#39;s Kyle Bogenschutz</a> ($):</p>
<blockquote><p><span class="storybody">&ldquo;Everything just seemed real good up there. I love Michigan and I&rsquo;m pushing him to go to Michigan. But at the end of the day it&rsquo;s still his decision. I&rsquo;m rooting for Michigan.&rdquo; </span></p>
<p><span class="storybody">...</span></p>
<p><span class="storybody">&ldquo;As far as Oregon and Ohio State, those are all good schools too. I can&rsquo;t put any of them down, but I root for Michigan. At the end of the day, like I said, this is all up to him. If he wants to go see them, I&rsquo;m behind him, whatever school he goes to.&rdquo; </span></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Clearly, Mr. Conley is going to let Gareon make his own choice, but it can&#39;t hurt to have him pulling for the Wolverines. The longer this process is drawn out, the better it probably is for Michigan&mdash;few expected him to make it this far in the first place after last Friday&#39;s news.</p>
<p><em><strong>[Hit THE JUMP for highlights of Channing Stribling and Derrick Green, news on a few 2014 recruits, and more.]</strong></em></p>
<a name="more"></a><!--break--><!--break--><h3>
Watching Channing Stribling Running</h3>
<p>247 compiled senior year highlights of <strong>Channing Stribling</strong>, and it&#39;s not hard to see why he pulled an offer:</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-RJ8hgF1lCs" width="420"></iframe></p>
<p>We don&#39;t get to see too much of him in coverage, so we&#39;ll wait for a verdict on his coverage skills, but that&#39;s one rangy playmaker&mdash;doesn&#39;t look afraid to lay a hit, either.</p>
<p>Also at 247, Clint Brewster evaluates new commit Da&#39;Mario Jones&#39;s tape; it&#39;s a largely positive take, though he does <a href="http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/Wolverine247-breaks-down-newest-commit-DaMario-Jones--98852" target="_blank">outline a few areas for improvement</a> ($):</p>
<blockquote><p>Jones is not the shiftiest player and needs to do a better job at making defenders miss after the catch and not running into contact. He can improve by using his hands to get off of man-coverage better and to get more separation. Jones is explosive coming off the football but needs to show that same explosiveness when coming out of his breaks.</p>
<p>Overall, Jones looks like an underrated prospect and has the tools to be a highly productive player at wide receiver or even on defense at safety.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Fox Sports Next has <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-football-recruiting/2012/10/31/3581876/running-back-recruit-derrick-green-goes-off" target="_blank">game film of <strong>Derrick Green</strong></a>; he put up great numbers, shows off solid speed, and runs well downhill, but I&#39;d like to see him break a few more tackles in the secondary&mdash;he doesn&#39;t quite look like a five-star talent on film, though of course he&#39;d still be a great pickup for Michigan.</p>
<p>Rivals has a <a href="http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1429043" target="_blank">free feature</a> on <strong>Chris Fox</strong>, who recently received his Army All-American jersey, and there&#39;s also a local news article about Fox being a self-described &quot;teddy bear&quot; ... <a href="http://www.9news.com/news/article/297363/345/Ponderosa-Footballs-teddy-bear" target="_blank">except when he&#39;s on the field</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>&quot;I have no friends when I play football,&quot; Fox said with a smile.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Aw.</p>
<h3>
Etc.</h3>
<p>2014 IL CB <strong>Parrker Westphal</strong> has been to campus multiple times and tells Scout that Michigan <a href="http://iowa.scout.com/2/1235132.html" target="_blank">currently stands out for him </a>($):</p>
<blockquote><p><span class="storybody"><strong><em>Josh Newkirk: What are some schools right now that are standing out to you in particular?</em></strong></span></p>
<p><span class="storybody">Parrker Weestphal: &ldquo;Well the school that set the bar for my standard to compare other schools to is <a href="http://michigan.scout.com/">Michigan</a>.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p><span class="storybody"><strong><em>Josh Newkirk: What is about the Wolverines that stands out</em></strong>? </span></p>
<p><span class="storybody">Parrker Westphal: &ldquo;Just the facilities, the program, the tradition around there is amazing.&rdquo; </span></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Westphal&#39;s father also had high praise for Michigan&mdash;they&#39;d have to be the favorite for the four-star right now.</p>
<p>Another four-star junior DB, VA S <strong>Quin Blanding</strong>, named Michigan to his top ten, though Mike Farrell believes that Virginia holds the edge <a href="http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1429936" target="_blank">with Florida State the next biggest threat to land him</a> ($).</p>
<p>A pair of four-star junior wideouts are planning visits to Ann Arbor in the near future: OH WR <strong>Derek Kief</strong>, who&#39;s <a href="http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/4-star-WR-Derek-Kief-planning-several-unofficial-visits--98976" target="_blank">also planning to visit West Virginia, Indiana, and Northwestern</a>($), and IN WR Austin Roberts, who&#39;s <a href="http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/Carmel-WR-Austin-Roberts-sets-first-ever-visit-to-Michigan-98939" target="_blank">set to visit for the Iowa game</a> ($). Neither have offers but both are very much in the running for one.</p>
<p>If you haven&#39;t yet, run, don&#39;t walk, to Chantel Jennings&#39;s <a href="http://espn.go.com/colleges/michigan/football/recruiting/story/_/id/8547790/st-clairsville-football-team-delivers-memorable-moment-freshman" target="_blank">story on Michael Ferns and Logan Thompson</a>, which has tear-inducing details that weren&#39;t available when the story first emerged a couple weeks ago.</p>
http://mgoblog.com/content/friday-recruitin-just-ponders-now#comments2013 recruiting2014 recruitingaustin robertschanning striblingda'mario jonesderek kiefderrick greengareon conleyparrker westphalquin blandingrecruiting roundupFri, 02 Nov 2012 18:03:32 +0000Ace73311 at http://mgoblog.comHello: Da'Mario Joneshttp://mgoblog.com/content/hello-damario-jones
<p class="rtecenter"><img alt="" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8469/8142015099_7177d51a30_o.jpg" style="width: 540px; height: 446px;" /><br />
<a href="http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20120929/SPORTS/120929009/Chargers-punch-playoff-ticket" target="_blank"><em>Via</em></a></p>
<p>As reported by Scout&#39;s Allen Trieu, Michigan has <a href="http://recruiting.scout.com/2/1235304.html" target="_blank">picked up a commitment</a> from Westland (MI) John Glenn WR Da&#39;Mario Jones, who was previously a Central Michigan commit until getting a coveted Wolverine offer today:</p>
<blockquote><p><span class="storybody">&quot;Actually, I was in my school library, and Coach Borges called and I picked up the phone and he said they gave me a full ride. I talked it over with my parents and we felt it was the best thing for me to do. I&#39;m officially decommitted from Central Michigan.&quot; </span></p>
<p><span class="storybody">Jones camped at Michigan, went to the BBQ at the Big House, and several games this year, but he says the relationship with the school began much earlier than that. </span></p>
<p><span class="storybody">&quot;Michigan is where it all started. They influenced me into playing, so it wasn&#39;t hard to the make decision based off that. We visited several times and I liked the area, the city is close to home, and everything&#39;s right.&quot; </span></p>
</blockquote>
<p>The timing of the offer leads me to believe that picking up Jones is a response to Gareon Conley&#39;s probable decommitment and not an indication that Michigan is out of the running with IL WR Laquon Treadwell; Sam Webb <a href="https://twitter.com/AllenTrieu/status/263681442624712704" target="_blank">believes the same</a>. Jones is Michigan&#39;s third wide receiver pledge in the 2013 class&mdash;joining Jaron Dukes and Csont&#39;e York&mdash;and, at least for the moment, their 23rd commitment overall.</p>
<p><b>GURU RATINGS</b></p>
<table align="center" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr class="odd">
<td>
<b>Scout</b></td>
<td>
<b>Rivals</b></td>
<td>
<b>ESPN</b></td>
<td>
<b>24/7 Sports</b></td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>
NR WR</td>
<td>
NR WR</td>
<td>
3*, 78, #77 WR</td>
<td>
3*, 84, #151 WR</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Jones, who plays in a run-heavy attack at John Glenn, is currently very much under the radar, garnering three-star rankings from two of the four services. All four sites list him at 6&#39;2&quot; and between 185 and 195 pounds; with Michigan recruiting a lot of taller, bulkier wideouts, this suggests that he&#39;s destined for the slot.</p>
<p>There&#39;s not a whole lot out there scouting-wise on Jones, but we do get <a href="http://insider.espn.go.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/player/evaluation/_/id/157933/damario-jones" target="_blank">an evaluation from ESPN</a> [emphasis mine] ($):</p>
<blockquote><p>Jones has intriguing qualities and growth upside. He may not be a great speed guy, but is fast enough. Has a good solid frame to work with, needs to add strength, but possesses very good measurables. <strong>Shows adequate-to-good speed on tape.</strong> Has good height and arm length. Long strider that has good, but not great quickness and is pretty high cut. Has some ability to stop and start, but lacks elite explosion. ... Puts his shoulder down and fights for extra yards. Gives up his body to get the ball in traffic. ... <strong>Can be inconsistent as a catcher, shows ability to snatch the ball out of the air, away from his body, but also is a body catcher.</strong> Needs to develop in this area, has ability and does not seem to fight the football. <strong>Solid route runner that can get in and out of breaks.</strong> Runs a variety of routes and is well versed in getting DBs set up one-on-one. Does a good job of coming out of speed cuts and adjusting to the football, but high cut build limits fluidity and lateral agility. <strong>Good, but not great with the ball in his hands.</strong> ... Needs to add strength and bulk to improve his blocking. Jones grows on you the more you watch him and could be a BCS/non-BCS conference level prospect.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is pretty much what you&#39;d expect from a sleeper recruit that eventually earns a big-time offer&mdash;decent but not spectacular physical tools, raw ability, and room to grow both physically and technically.</p>
<p>Tim Sullivan made it out to see Jones in action earlier this fall, coming away impressed with his effort blocking downfield and inconclusive about his receiving ability <a href="http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1419775" target="_blank">due to a lack of targets</a> ($):</p>
<blockquote><p>Michigan has given Jones a hard look as a backup option at wide receiver, and it&#39;s easy to see why. Though he has a reputation as a slot-type receiver, he has good height (6-2) and his 185-pound mass looks to be solidly packed onto his frame. He still showed good burst, and though he didn&#39;t have the sudden acceleration of a Steve Breaston-type, he builds up a head of steam quickly, and can change directions without losing too much of that momentum.</p>
<p> With the ball in his hands, Jones was able to cut in and out of traffic, and although his help up front wasn&#39;t great, he was able to grind out some yardage. He was hardly targeted as a wideout in Glenn&#39;s run-heavy offense (one reason he only holds MAC offers, despite his talent), and didn&#39;t even get a chance to show much route-running polish, either.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Jones talked about himself a little bit in the wake of camping at Michigan this summer <a href="http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/John-Glenn-WR-DaMario-Jones-in-the-mix-for-a-Michigan-offer-97503" target="_blank">to 247&#39;s Todd Worly</a> ($):</p>
<blockquote><p>&ldquo;I talk to them every two weeks or so,&rdquo; Jones said. &ldquo;At camp, they said I run good routes, I have better ball skills, and they said I have great speed &ndash; that I can flat-out fly. I sent them my highlight tape, and they said they&rsquo;re interested in it and that there are things they like. I hope they see some things they like and make a move.&rdquo;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As you&#39;ll see on his tape, Jones does possess above-average speed&mdash;somewhat deceptive speed due to a long stride&mdash;and the ability to go up and get the ball in the air, though as the ESPN evaluation says he sometimes allows the ball to get into his body.</p>
<p><b>OFFERS</b></p>
<p>Aside from Michigan, Jones held offers from Central Michigan, Bowling Green, New Mexico, Ohio, and Toledo. Scout also lists interest but no offer from Michigan State and Penn State&mdash;he camped at MSU and took an unofficial to PSU in March, per 247.</p>
<p><b>STATS</b></p>
<p>No stats that I can find in a quick search.</p>
<p><b>FAKE 40 TIME</b></p>
<p>Jones claims a 4.47 40 time from MSU&#39;s camp and a 4.50 at Ohio State, <a href="http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/John-Glenn-WR-DaMario-Jones-in-the-mix-for-a-Michigan-offer-97503" target="_blank">as well as a 10.9-second 100-meter dash</a> ($). The 100 time is more believable than the 40 time to me, since his top-end speed looks better than his off-the-line acceleration. I&#39;ll give the 4.47 a four FAKEs out of five.</p>
<p><b>VIDEO</b></p>
<p>Junior year highlights:</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Rst1Ihqh6x0" width="420"></iframe></p>
<p>Extensive senior highlights can be found <a href="http://www.hudl.com/athlete/1672328/highlights/15278383" target="_blank">on his Hudl page</a>.</p>
<p><b>PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE</b></p>
<p>Jones is the only receiver in this class who looks like he could find a home in the slot. Since the only other slot receivers slated to be on the roster next year&mdash;Jeremy Gallon and The Threat&mdash;will both be seniors, Jones could find himself with a role early on in his career. With Gallon and Dileo around in 2013 and Jones needing a fair amount of development, I expect him to take a redshirt year, but after that he should have a shot to see the field. Much will depend on the direction Al Borges takes the offense post-Denard (or post-Gardner); if he goes to more two-TE sets with a lot of Funchess in the slot, which is expected, Jones may have a very limited role. If more spread elements remain, however, we could see him a fair amount moving forward.</p>
<p><b>UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS</b></p>
<p>As said above, this is likely a reaction to the impending loss of Gareon Conley&mdash;who, while committed as a corner, may have had a chance to switch to wide receiver&mdash;and not a backup plan for missing out on Laquon Treadwell. As such, Michigan will continue to heavily pursue Treadwell, VA RB Derrick Green, and FL DB Leon McQuay III&mdash;the ideal Conley replacement&mdash;as well as an offensive lineman to take the spot formerly held by David Dawson.</p>
<a name="more"></a>http://mgoblog.com/content/hello-damario-jones#comments2013 recruitingcommitment postsda'mario jonesgareon conleylaquon treadwellWed, 31 Oct 2012 17:28:53 +0000Ace73277 at http://mgoblog.comMonday Recruitin' Ain't Scaredhttp://mgoblog.com/content/monday-recruitin-aint-scared
<p><em>Today&#39;s recruiting roundup covers MSU visit reactions, a friendly bet between a future Wolverine and a future Buckeye, how not to deal with the Dawson decommitment, and more.</em></p>
<h3>
Visit Reactions: Positive (Surprise!)</h3>
<p>The overall ugliness of the Michigan-MSU game wasn&#39;t enough to dampen the excitement of visitors to the Big House, even when you put aside <strong>Denzel Ward</strong>&#39;s <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/hello-future-denzel-ward" target="_blank">pre-game commitment</a>. In fact, Ward could be joined sooner or later on the 2014 offensive line by four-star FL lineman Mason Cole, who <a href="http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/East-Lake-OL-Mason-Cole-on-Michigan-It-just-feels-like-home-97062" target="_blank">said this to 247&#39;s Todd Worly</a> ($, info in header):</p>
<blockquote><p>&ldquo;I liked everything about it,&rdquo; Cole said. &ldquo;Just the atmosphere and everything. <strong>It just feels like home.</strong> Just the coaching staff and Ann Arbor.&rdquo;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>When asked where Michigan stands, Cole stated that they&#39;re &quot;really high&quot; on his list&mdash;impressive considering an offer list that includes USC, Ohio State, Florida, Florida State, and Notre Dame.</p>
<p>GBW&#39;s Kyle Bogenshutz caught up with Cass Tech junior CB <strong>Damon Webb</strong>, who normally plays things close to the vest but had <a href="http://michigan.scout.com/2/1232238.html#.UIRyD8JMxgY.twitter" target="_blank">high praise for the visit</a> ($):</p>
<blockquote><p><span class="storybody">&ldquo;This time when I was up at Michigan it was different,&rdquo; Webb told <em>GoBlueWolverine</em>. &ldquo;The crowd was more live. Other Michigan games it wasn&rsquo;t really this big, but I was really impressed by this visit.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p><span class="storybody">...</span></p>
<p><span class="storybody">&ldquo;It helped a lot,&rdquo; added Webb.</span></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Top 2013 target VA RB <strong>Derrick Green</strong>:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Derrick Green responded one word on how visit is going so far at <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23Michigan">#Michigan</a> -- &quot;great&quot;</p>
<p> &mdash; Mike Farrell (@rivalsmike) <a data-datetime="00" href="https://twitter.com/rivalsmike/status/260092311227207681">October 21, 2012</a></p></blockquote>
<p>I have to think&mdash;given the poor seasons of Auburn and Tennessee&mdash;that Michigan is in the driver&#39;s seat for Green at this point.</p>
<p>While IL WR <strong>Laquon Treadwell</strong> was unable to make the trip&mdash;I&#39;m a broken record on this subject, so react as you will (sorry, mods)&mdash;the Wolverines did host a pair of 2013 prospects currently committed elsewhere. Westland John Glenn WR <strong>Da&#39;Mario Jones</strong> (CMU commit) was in the Big House for the second straight week, <a href="http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1425662" target="_blank">telling Tim Sullivan</a>($) that &quot;it was probably one of the hypest games that I&#39;ve been to.&quot; Scout&#39;s Simone Scott <a href="http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=162&amp;f=1088&amp;t=10014176" target="_blank">posted on The Victors Board</a>($) that Pickerington (OH) North RB <strong>Godwin Igwebuike</strong>&mdash;Northwestern commit and HS teammate of Jake Butt&mdash;was also in attendance, though it sounds like he just took the opportunity to catch a game with his friend and teammate. Both Jones and Igwebuike could be backup options should the Wolverines miss out on Treadwell and Green.</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/3MMMJB2bFaw" width="420"></iframe></p>
<p>Michigan even made waves in the 2015 class, especially with their first offered prospect, KY RB <strong>Damien Harris</strong>. Harris has spent the season putting up video game numbers after camping in Ann Arbor over the summer; he came away from the visit in awe of the stadium atmosphere, <a href="http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/collegesMichigan/post?id=7894" target="_blank">according to TomVH</a> ($):</p>
<blockquote><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;d say that Michigan was already on top, but it just moved them up even more for me because that&rsquo;s definitely the type of atmosphere I&rsquo;d like to play in,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;That makes me want to go there even more. To know that the fans are that into the game, it definitely moved them up.&rdquo;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Harris added that he couldn&#39;t &quot;put it into words how amazing it really was,&quot; so yeah, that went well. He&#39;s a potential five-star who&#39;s already getting serious national attention, and it&#39;s safe to say the Wolverines are leading the way right now. It&#39;s worth noting that his mother accompanied him on the visit, as well.</p>
<p>The Cass Tech pipeline could continue, meanwhile, in the form of sophomore DE <strong>Joshua Alabi</strong>, who told 247&#39;s Todd Worly that he wants to stay close to home ($):</p>
<blockquote><p>&ldquo;Everyone around you is family, <strong>so if I could go there, I would</strong>,&rdquo; Alabi said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been to Michigan already, and if I could stay home, I would. I don&rsquo;t want to leave home if I don&rsquo;t have to. I&rsquo;d just stay in Michigan.&rdquo;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Alabi is an impressive young prospect who already stands at 6&#39;5&quot;, 245 lbs.; while he doesn&#39;t have an offer yet, he&#39;s a candidate down the road, and it sounds like Michigan would be in a very good position to land him.</p>
<p>For more visit reaction, Tremendous <a href="http://www.michigantremendous.com/" target="_blank">has you covered</a>.</p>
<p><em><strong>[Mike McCray throws down the gauntlet against Cam Burrows, a roundup of last weekend&#39;s high school action, and more after THE JUMP.]</strong></em></p>
<a name="more"></a><!--break--><!--break--><h3>
These Colors Don&#39;t Run</h3>
<p>Trotwood-Madison teammates <strong>Mike McCray</strong> and <strong>Cam Burrows</strong> each received their Under Armour All-American jerseys over the weekend. McCray, as you know, is a Michigan commit, Burrows, an Ohio State pledge. It&#39;s not a surprise, then, that the time-tested &quot;wear your hated rival&#39;s shirt&quot; bet <a href="http://espn.go.com/college-sports/recruiting/football/story/_/id/8515475/trotwood-madison-teammates-espn-150-members-cam-burrows-mike-mccray-ii-end-their-high-school-careers-ua-game" target="_blank">is <em>on</em>, son</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>Although the two were friendly Wednesday when they each received their jersey for the 2013 Under Armour All-America Game as part of the American Family Insurance Selection Tour, the teammates will be on opposite sides next month with a little wager on the line.</p>
<p>If the Wolverines win, Burrows, the first commitment of the Buckeyes&#39; 2013 class, will have to wear a Michigan shirt.</p>
<p>&quot;I&#39;ll probably buy one that makes fun of Ohio State,&quot; said McCray, <strong>who added he had to convince a &quot;scared&quot; Burrows to accept the deal</strong>.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Burrows, for his part, says he&#39;s confident that McCray will be forced to don the scarlet and grey; McCray was probably just talking trash, but I&#39;m fine accepting his words at face value.</p>
<p>In other commitment news, <strong>Gareon Conley</strong> received an offer from Ohio State over the weekend, <a href="http://m.espn.go.com/general/blogs/blogpost?blogname=collegesosu&amp;id=4140&amp;wjb" target="_blank">per ESPN&#39;s Brad Bournival</a> ($, info in header). I&#39;ll reiterate what I&#39;ve said all along: until Conley actually takes a visit, there&#39;s no reason for consternation. On the field, Conley <a href="http://www.massillonproudblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/bring-on-canton-mckinley-tigers-rumble.html" target="_blank">hauled in another touchdown pass</a> over the weekend.</p>
<p>Other standout commitment performances from last weekend:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<strong>DeVeon Smith</strong> <a href="http://www.myvalleysports.com/content/headlines/story/DeVeon-Shatters-Rushing-Record/qMWiuVE5EUqcbK1PqM0xYg.cspx" target="_blank">rushed for 282 yards</a> en route to breaking the Trumbull County career rushing mark with 6,461 yards.</li>
<li>
<strong>Ross Douglas</strong> carried the ball 22 times for 214 yards and five touchdowns, including <a href="http://highschoolsports.cleveland.com/news/article/4813408473640450424/avon-defeats-rocky-river-to-keep-wsc-lead/" target="_blank">two from 50+ yards out</a>.</li>
<li>
<strong>Channing Stribling</strong> had touchdown catches of 64 and 20 yards in a <a href="http://www.maxpreps.com/contests/0sgkfKB5zEuB7Ku4Un8rQQ/football-fall-12/boxscore-butler-matthews-vs-south-mecklenburg-charlotte.htm" target="_blank">blowout victory for Matthews Butler</a>.</li>
<li>
<strong>Jake Butt</strong> had four TFLs from his defensive end spot in a <a href="http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/sports/2012/10/20/time-for-payback.html" target="_blank">big win for Pickerington North</a>.</li>
</ul>
<h3>
Etc.</h3>
<p>Yes, <strong>David Dawson</strong> named a top four that included Ohio State <a href="http://ohiostate.247sports.com/Article/David-Dawson-names-a-top-four-and-plans-visits-96662" target="_blank">alongside Florida, LSU, and Alabama</a> ($). This must be a move of bitter retribution, and most certainly not because he&#39;s a top Midwest talent and Ohio State has a track record of developing... top Midwest talent. Not that <a href="https://twitter.com/D3_FutureLegend/status/257553980530499585" target="_blank">he&#39;d have anything to be bitter about</a>, right?</p>
<p>Mick McCabe talks to Cass Tech head coach Thomas Wilcher and Farmington Hills Harrison coach John Herrington about the perception that they <a href="http://www.freep.com/article/20121019/SPORTS07/310190082/1055/sports07/Do-Michigan-high-school-football-coaches-favor-Michigan-State-Michigan-" target="_blank">direct their players towards Michigan and Michigan State</a>, respectively.</p>
http://mgoblog.com/content/monday-recruitin-aint-scared#comments2013 recruiting2014 recruitingchanning striblingda'mario jonesdamien harrisdamon webbdavid dawsondenzel wardderrick greendeveon smithgareon conleyjake buttjoshua alabilaquon treadwellmason colemike mccrayrecruiting roundupross douglasMon, 22 Oct 2012 17:46:39 +0000Ace73020 at http://mgoblog.com